Colorfully and loudly, Chinatown heralds Year of the Horse

The lion dancers were the smart ones: They brought earplugs.

Everyone else stood with their fingers in their ears - and smiles on their faces - as the din from thousands of exploding firecrackers helped welcome the Year of the Horse to Philadelphia during Sunday's Lunar New Year parade.

"It was too loud!" said 5-year-old Oona, who stood on a wet Chinatown sidewalk with her parents, Steven Schmelz and Madeleine Darling. "It smelled like ashes."

The acrid scent wafted through the neighborhood as the Philadelphia Suns led a cymbal-clanging, drum-banging procession through the region's Asian center. Hundreds of spectators followed the lions - some for blocks, some only as far as the door of their favorite restaurant.

Other lion-dance troupes performed in Pennsauken and South Philadelphia, places where the Asian population has been growing.

"It's tradition. It's part of our culture, and a lot of fun," said Ken Chin, of Huntingdon Valley, who was taking part in the Chinatown parade with his sons, Michael, 11, and Nicholas, 9.

The Lunar New Year is celebrated in countries across the world, and is considered the most important of Asian holidays, a time when family members often travel great distances to be together.

The new year officially arrived at midnight Thursday. But Sunday marked the largest celebrations, and commenced a series of important events for the region's Asian communities.

On Wednesday, elected officials, activists, funders, and service providers will convene for a conference, "The State of Asian Americans in Philadelphia." The one-day meeting aims to explode the myth of the model minority through data that show many Asian nationalities suffering high levels of poverty, unemployment, and poor health care.

In April, St. Joseph's University will host a major conference timed to the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, and speakers will include a former protest leader and a former Chinese government official. Hundreds died when tanks and troops put down the peaceful, pro-democracy demonstration in 1989.

On Sunday, Chinatown streets were closed to traffic, leaving ample room for old men with canes, young women in skirts, and babies in strollers. Friends bumped into one another, exchanging hugs or handshakes and best wishes for the coming year.

Sidewalk merchants sold oranges and tangerines, the seeds symbolizing the continuity of generations. The cool and cloudy weather felt as warm and welcoming as summer. One guy wore shorts.

"This is the time of year when everyone gets together," said Jenny Leung, a leader in the Suns, a sports and performance group.

The Chinatown celebration has become more formal in recent years, adhering to a firmer schedule and including an official banquet and traditional flower market.

The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp. has led the expansion, seeing the new-year observance as a way to promote the community.

"We really want to share the culture with people," said John Chin, executive director of the development corporation, who was tweeting and posting news of the parade on Facebook.

The color of the day? Red, of course. In sweaters and jackets, on the lanterns that hung from storefronts, in the trim of the flags at the head of the parade, and in the wash of paper that covered the streets, the remnants of firecrackers, after the lion dancers passed by.

Ted Merriman came appropriately dressed, wearing a full-size, rubber horse mask. He was looking to meet friends from Eastern University, where he's a library aide.

Others sought only to take in the color, to revel in the smoke and sound and meaning of the day.

"It's a good way to start the new year," said Joe Lowe, who has been lion-dancing for 51 of his 60 years, "bringing everyone luck and prosperity."