By Alex Lloyd Gross
If you are planning to drive into the center city area tomorrow, for the last day of the Philly Auto Show, give yourself plentyof time in the afternoon. Traffic in and around the Chinatown nieghborhood will be heavily congested. From about noon until 4:00 p.m. it is the third and final celebration of the Chinese New Year.
Different martial arts clubs will be designated a Sunday ,to parade around the area. several lions made of paper mache and manned by skilled students,will present themselves at the front doors of various merchants that will make a contribution to the club. Complete with drummers, people dressed in pig masks( evil chasers) will help to insure that the participating merchants have a profitable year.
The lion dance is constantly moving, which means that streets in the area get bottlenecked very quickly. Vine Street, Race and Arch Streets are just some of the artierial roads that will come to a crawl. As quickly as they are closed down, is as quick as they will open up. In spite of that, it takes a long time for the traffic to correct itself.
This celebration is loud. Merchants will set off strings of firecrackers that are supposed to ward off evil spirits with their noise. The Chinese use a lunar calendar which explains why they are celebrating their New Year at this time. Each year,their new year falls on a different date and day.
There is also a martial arts exhibit which is usualyy held right in the intersection of 10th and Race Streets. The celebration is slated to start just after noon. Observers are urged to take SEPTA and bring ear protection.
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