Asia Times Square in Grand Prairie recently celebrated their 14th annual Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is one of the most important and most celebrated holidays in some Asian cultures. Aside from it being a holiday to signify a new year on the lunar calendar, it also represents new beginnings, good fortune, and health. A typical Lunar New Year celebration is filled with traditions, not only with family but with businesses as well, that are meant to bring more prosperity and happiness all around.

Asia Times Square in Grand Prairie recently celebrated their 14th annual Lunar New Year and continued on with their tradition despite the weather and safety restrictions. They warmed up the festivities by making donations to the local community and awarding scholarships to well-deserving students. Asia Times Square also held movie screenings and fireworks– they even projected the Super Bowl on their big screen! Food vendors were also present, and it was nice seeing other local businesses present among what’s already at Asia Times Square. There was a great variety of cuisines like Cambodian, Lao, Japanese, Vietnamese, and many more. The smell of the grill coming from several vendors was absolutely hard to resist, and the selection inside Asia Times Square made for an unstoppable food journey.

The following week’s festivities were a lot more traditional. They started with a ritual for the lion dance inside Hong Kong Marketplace. Lion Dances are an iconic part of Lunar New Year celebrations as it symbolizes warding off any evil monsters, spirits, or negative energy. The lions are often fed offerings like round fruits, leafy greens, and red envelopes filled with money from the crowd for good luck. After a ceremony in the lobby, the lions moved inside Hong Kong Market, which would bring even more good fortune to the Grand Prairie establishment since any business visited by the lion dance performers is bound to have good luck for the rest of the year. Throughout the dance, they took the time to entertain the crowd and most especially the kids. The lion dancers would playfully take a “bite,” which is supposed to keep the kids strong, or would pass the offerings along to them. The festivities were then taken outside where the lions danced by the firecrackers to scare off any remaining evil spirits and to signify courage and strength for the rest of 2021. For safety reasons, the entire celebration was also broadcasted live on Facebook so people could enjoy the traditions safely and in the comfort of their own home.

While Lunar New Year festivities may be over, there’s always next year and we’re hoping that having continued the traditions despite the hurdles helped bring good health and prosperity for everyone this year. Asia Times Square also has a great variety of businesses and cuisines that you can visit year round, so make sure you come hungry in hopes that you get to try them all!