The Year of the Snake: Celebrating the Lunar New Year in America
Today, America has 4.7 million Chinese American citizens. The celebration of their Lunar New Year is a highly anticipated annual event. Unlike America’s celebration of its New Years on January 1st, the Chinese New Year arrives on a different day each year. This is because it is tied to the phases of the moon. The Chinese year is 354 days, and each cycle spans approximately 29 days, which follow the moon’s 12 phases.
2025 is the Year of the Snake and according the Chinese culture, anyone born during the Year of the Snake will be intelligent, resilient, charismatic, courageous and artistic. But, they may also be cunning and intimidating.
Chinese New Year
Many celebrations, including parades and fireworks, usher in the Lunar New Year, but these events are also enacted to chase away evil spirits.
In addition, the Lunar New Year celebrates the transition from one animal to another. This is dictated by the Chinese Zodiac which has a rotating 12-year cycle of animal signs and the many characteristics attributed to each animal. 2024 was the Year of the Dragon and 2026 will be the Year of the Horse.
Most of America’s Chinese live, and celebrate, the Lunar New Year in California or New York. California has nearly a dozen Chinatowns. The oldest of which is in San Francisco. The Chinese began to emigrate to U.S. in the 1850s. They came to America to escape the disasters that persisted in China after the 1850 Taiping Rebellion. Thirty million Chinese died from war, disease and famine in the 15 years that followed the rebellion. They also came to take part in California’s 1849 Gold Rush with many settling in the San Francisco Bay area. Later, their cheap labor helped to build America’s expanding railroad network.
2025 "Year of the Snake V2" Silver Proof Round
But, the influx of Chinese immigrants did not begin in earnest until the signing of the Burlingame Treaty in 1868. Anson Burlingame was the former U.S. Minister to China. He negotiated an agreement between China and United States which gave China “most-favored nation” status. As a result, and for the first time in history, Chinese and American people were permitted to travel freely between both countries.
Although California saw 40,000 Chinese immigrants arrive on its shores between 1851 and 1860, immigration records show that the treaty encouraged a rising number of Chinese immigrants to enter America. During the decade from 1861 to 1870 there were 64,301 Chinese immigrants who arrived in California. Between 1871 and 1880, 123,201 Chinese people entered the United States. The decade from 1881-1890 saw another 61,711 Chinese immigrants who landed on the West Coast of America. At this point, tensions began to arise.
In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Chester A. Arthur. This law banned Chinese immigration for 10 years. It was passed due to racial tensions, labor unrest and economic concerns. In 1943, during the height of World War II, the law was repealed because China was our ally during the ongoing war against Germany and Japan.
In 1949, China suffered another rebellion called the Chinese Communist Revolution. China was renamed the People’s Republic of China and became a Communist country banning religion and China’s ancient culture. This led the United States to suspend all diplomatic relations with the PRC regime.
2025 "Year of the Snake V2" Silver Coin, by Chris Duane
This situation remained in place for decades until Pres. Nixon restored diplomatic relations with People’s Republic of China once again in 1972. Despite China remaining a Communist country, full diplomatic relations were restored in 1979. And we now know the disturbing outcome of that decision.
Today, California and New York continue to have the largest populations of Chinese in America. 77% of the Chinese people have stayed in California due to its proximity to mainland China. The remainder transitioned to New York where they established New York City’s Chinatown, which now encompasses a 55 square block area in Lower Manhattan.
New York City’s Chinese immigrants are primarily from the Toisan and Guangdong regions of China. Most of them also came to America to escape persecution and natural disasters that plagued China including droughts, starvation and floods. Many began to move East in the 1870s and settled New York City while seeking better jobs and less discrimination than they experienced in California.
Despite the current, and continuing, tensions with the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese Americans, on the other hand, continue to support and contribute to America’s economy and its vast cultural fabric. Unlike in China, Chinese Americans are still allowed to celebrate China’s illustrious ancient history and practice their traditional Falun Dafa faith in their daily lives.
Other recent Silver Shield Proof Round releases
All Americans, many of whom have ancestors with similar stories of deprivation and persecution in their homelands, can appreciate the desire by Chinese Americans to celebrate their ancestral culture and traditions.
And one of the most important advantages of living in America is that, unlike in many other countries, all Americans can openly share, and encourage, in each other’s celebrations.
Chris’ new coin, “The Year of the Snake”, does just that!
Cheers!
