Revelers Pack Lower Manhattan For Chinese New Year Parade

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The annual Chinese New Year Parade hit the streets of Chinatown in lower Manhattan Sunday afternoon.

Tens of thousands of revelers lined the streets to welcome the Year of the Snake.

Parade organizers Steven and Danielle Tin of the Better Chinatown Society talked with CBS 2's Cindy Hsu Sunday morning ahead of the festivities.

"There's tons of traditions," Danielle Tan said. They include eating certain foods like oranges, giving gifts in red envelopes to children and single people, wearing red and cleaning your house.

The 14th annual parade began at 1 p.m. and featured what organizers hoped would be a Guinness World Record of dancers in a Lunar New Year parade.

Lunar New Year celebrations took place around the world, with parades held from Sydney to Paris.

The Manhattan parade, featuring the Lion Dance, capped off a two-week celebration of the Year of the Snake. Ahead of the parade, lions visit shops all across Chinatown.

"The lion tradition of going to businesses during the new year period is to wish the business for the coming year good luck, good wealth," Steven Tin told CBS 2's Hsu.

Last weekend, firecrackers were set off downtown to scare away the evil spirits.

Did you celebrate Chinese New Year today at the parade? Let us know in the comments section below...