Travel Haiku - Chinese New Year In San Francisco Poem by john tiong chunghoo

San Francisco Chinese New Year
longest dragon cruises out of the
American Chinese heartland

San Francisco Chinese New Year
Happy Niu Year we greet
everybody

San Francisco Chinese New Year
it is also a celebration for Obama
the Chinese octogenarian roars

'Niu' is Mandarin word for Ox. Obama was born in the year of the Ox.
Started in the 1860s by the city's Chinese immigrants, San Francisco's Chinese New Year festival has grown to be the largest celebration of Chinese culture anywhere in the world outside of Asia. Ring in the Year of the Ox, which begins today, and shop for crafts and food, enjoy music and dance from around Asia, and experience Chinese kite making, calligraphy, folk dancing, puppet shows, and martial arts. Watch the spectacular parade finale on February 7, with elaborately decorated floats, marching bands, martial arts groups, stilt walkers, lion dancers, Chinese acrobatics, the newly-crowned Miss Chinatown USA, and a 200-foot golden dragon.