San Francisco is the largest city in California and an important center of economy, education, and culture in the United States. It has a rich history with the Asian community, particularly Chinese Americans.
Lunar New Year is the most significant holiday celebrated across many East Asian cultures. Around late January to early February, numerous Asian countries and Asian communities abroad come alive with the festivities of the New Year. It’s no surprise that no matter where they are, the spirit of the New Year remains deeply ingrained in every East Asian person.
This spirit is vividly depicted through a series of images portraying the Lunar New Year celebrations of the Asian community in San Francisco (California, USA) during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
From the 1850s and 1860s, waves of migration from China and other Asian countries created a large and diverse Asian community in this far western land. During the Gold Rush, San Francisco became a melting pot of various cultures. As journalist Bayard Taylor wrote in the New York Tribune when he visited the city in 1849.
The streets were bustling with people of diverse appearances, much like the eclectic architecture: Americans of all types, Native Californians, Chileans, Sonorians, Kanakas from Hawaii, Chinese with long braids, Malays, and other ethnicities with distinct facial features, making it difficult to identify any specific nationality.
This close-knit environment with many ethnicities naturally fostered a certain degree of tolerance and multicultural awareness among the people of the Golden Gate City. However, during each New Year celebration, the local newspaper Daily Alta California felt it necessary to inform the public about the holiday, especially as they listed dozens of different well-wishes with specific interpretations.
For William Brewer, a natural science teacher who participated in California’s first geological survey, the sound of firecrackers echoing for several days was undoubtedly an essential part of every spring celebration in San Francisco.
Dragon dance in San Francisco in 1882.
Illustration of Lunar New Year in the Chinese community, 1875.
Illustration of two men exchanging New Year greetings with the words meaning “wishing you wealth and happiness”.
Woodcut depicting the Lunar New Year in 1880.
A parade during the New Year celebration at the end of the 19th century.
A man lighting a firecracker, 1905.
A woman and baby carrying New Year gifts, 1912.
Children surrounding a balloon vendor, 1900.
