Chinatown and Local Celebrations in Los Angeles Essay

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Introduction

Chinatown is in Los Angeles and it is as vibrant as this city. During the 1850 U.S. Census, two Chinese residents were living in Los Angeles. By 1870, the number of Chinese had increased significantly to about 200 people living in Los Angels. Most of these Chinese leased their living space from landlords such as Sostenes Sepulveda (Cho and Chinese Historical Society of Southern California 37).

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They were recruited by railroad companies to work on very dangerous construction jobs. After the completion of the railroads, a big number of the Chinese migrated to Los Angeles seeking employment in agriculture, restaurants, among other industries. By the start of the 2oth century, the population of the Chinese had grown to 3,000. The Chinese enclave in Los Angeles became known as Old Chinatown but crumbled during the early half of the 20th century.

Chinese Immigrants and the New Chinatown

The Chinese immigrant faced a lot of violence in their new environment yet they persisted in the industries open to them and established a strong economic niche in the market of California. The Chinese eventually started to move out of the old Chinatown to a community near San Pedro, but those who could not afford to move out remained in old Chinatown. This town was demolished in 1933 but was rebuilt again in a new location by a group of pioneering Chinese Americans.

This place is now known as the new Chinatown and it is the first Chinese closed society in the country to be designed and owned by Chinese Americans. Chinatown is an interesting world where people (the Chinese) who are different from the Americans lead reserved and mysterious lives. The area was undeniably a place of protection in its early years, but it has changed ever since to become a huge cultural economy of substantial flexibility and dynamism (Cho and Chinese Historical Society of Southern California 67).

It is not only a built-up area but an authentic enterprise zone. It is the place where Chinese immigrants and their descendants have established a host of autonomous small business which transformed them into one of the most economically triumphant groups in the history of American immigration.

Los Angeles is also known as the Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels. It was given this name by the Spanish in 1781 when about 44 settlers settled in Los Angeles. Today, Los Angeles is a diverse city with many ethnic groups with different cultures. It is a very big city that provides a home to people from different countries. It is believed that people from more than one hundred and forty countries live in this city. Los Angeles is ranked the second-largest city in the nation following New York City. In terms of population, it is ranked ninth in the world. More than nine million people live in Los Angeles County and all of them seem satisfied (Gleason 25).

For many years, people all over the world have been willing to live in Los Angeles for its good fame, fortune, and good weather. However, only a small part of the population living in Los Angeles is famous and wealthy, although the weather is good. Temperature ranges between 58 and 76 degrees Fahrenheit, in December and September but may even go to 80 degrees in February. However, the county experiences snow most of the year. It is not clear why this city is so famous because negatives such as crime and racial tensions are as high as in other parts of the world. It has a large bus transit system which is growing slowly, it is a very big city and one requires a car to get around it effectively.

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This means that, if one is planning to live in Los Angeles, he must own a car because public transportation is very slow. To make it worse the parking spots are tight and insurance coverage is very high, this implies that only the wealthy can enjoy life in this big county. Newcomers often go through a hard time trying to locate one community from another and to move from one point to another. Traffic is bad and some of the shortest routes may turn to be the longest. Different cultures and ethnicities live in Los Angeles and newcomers must be prepared to interact with these people.

Chinese New Year is a holiday celebrated all over the world by Chinese communities. It is a holiday that lasts for 15 consecutive days. Chinese communities celebrate this holiday either in late winter or early spring. It is marked with good wishes and happiness. The holiday begins on any day between 20th January and 20th February at the sight of a full moon. Chinese New Year began about four thousand years ago (Gleason 10).

This holiday was started in China by farmers to mark the end of winter and the start of spring. As winter was almost over, farmers worked hard to prepare the land for spring planting. Fields were cleared and new seeds planted. After planting their seeds, the farmers gathered to pray for a good harvest. According to them, spring symbolized the start of a New Year and that is why they celebrated it. In many of the Chinese homes, there was lots of cleaning and feasting to celebrate the new beginning. After celebrating, they rested for a few days until they had to work in the fields again.

Part of the New Year’s celebration involved dragons, lions, lights, and firecrackers. It is believed that this kind of celebration started one winter long ago when one of the villages was attacked by a wild beast. At first, every person in that village and the neighboring villages became afraid of the beast. But after some time, the villagers realized that the wild beast was afraid of loud noises, and bright lights and colors such as red.

As a way of keeping the beast away, every door was painted red in the whole village. The people also built fires and set off firecrackers to scare away the beast from their village. To this day, wild beats, red color, bright lights, and firecrackers form a very significant part of the Chinese New Year celebration.

Conclusion

The dragon parade marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. The enormous dragon is painted red, and green on the head. It has a red tongue that looks like it can spew fire. The dragon’s eyes are painted a few minutes before the start of the parade. This signifies the life of the dragon. As the Chinese start to bang the drums and to use firecrackers, the dragon rears its head and moves its multi-colored silky body through the streets.

It is usually carried by strong men and women all through the streets (Gleason 32). This kind of celebration is practiced in every Chinese community including Chinatown in Los Angeles. Here the Chinese move around the city without fear with their dragon. Through this practice, the Chinese living in Chinatown can gather together and this has increased their solidarity and determination to make it through in a land that is not theirs.

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Works Cited

Cho, Jenny, and the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. Chinatown and China City in Los Angeles. South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2011.

Gleason, Carrie. Chinese New Year. Celebrations in My World. California: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2008.

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IvyPanda. (2021) 'Chinatown and Local Celebrations in Los Angeles'. 1 February.

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IvyPanda. 2021. "Chinatown and Local Celebrations in Los Angeles." February 1, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/chinatown-and-local-celebrations-in-los-angeles/.

1. IvyPanda. "Chinatown and Local Celebrations in Los Angeles." February 1, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/chinatown-and-local-celebrations-in-los-angeles/.


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