Photo: Kim Tunnicliffe / WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Celebrating the Lunar New Year, the Mandarin Oriental hotel in downtown Boston held a traditional Chinese lion dance in its lobby to usher in the Year of the Rabbit.
WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe spoke to the Oriental's General Manager Markus Lindner, who said that recent events make wishing for luck an encouraged practice.
"Who doesn't need good luck or good fortune? Especially after these challenging years, we'll take the opportunity to celebrate," Lindner said.
Chinese community leader Vivian Lee watched the dance and said she couldn't help but think about the recent tragedy in Monterey Park, California— where at least ten people were gunned down during a Lunar New Year celebration.
"I don't think there's any easy explanation, other than there's a lot of anger towards Asians, and Chinese in particular. Certainly in the last couple of years with Covid-19, a lot of Asians have been blamed for spreading Covid. Hopefully this can be stopped so there can be some healing," Lee said.
The origin of the lion dance dates back thousands of years and requires dancers to mimic the King of the Jungle's moves.
WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports.