The Chinese New Year celebration in 2024 starts from the eve of Chinese New Year on Feb 9. It is a big family reunion event, similar to Thanksgiving in the United States.

For 20 years, it gathered dust. "A lot of people in Portland, even Chinese, haven't seen the dragon dance," said Fred Wong, a soon-to-be 82-year-old who grew up in Chinatown.

The Chinese dragon years over the last century were 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 and 2024. The next Year of the Dragon won’t come again until 2036.

As we enter the Year of the Dragon, we can expect the dragon’s traits—nobility, confidence, and strength—to reign supreme, giving us the energy we need to really get after it in 2024.

When Lunar New Year begins Saturday, initiating a new Year of the Dragon, some experts anticipate —or even hope for—another dragon-year rise in Chinese birth rates, however slight. “Dragon years are ...