Chinese Community in Panama Celebrates Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year, which in 2025 corresponds to the wooden snake that symbolizes “versatility, intelligence and cunning” and which is celebrating 171 years in Panama, began its festivities this week in the historic neighborhood of the Asian community located in the Old Town of the capital.

Each of the dozens of businesses operated by the Orientals in the area were visited by their fellow countrymen who “blessed” them with the lion and dragon dance.

“In this case we use the lion more, which is more versatile to come and scare away evil spirits, using firecrackers and at the same time bringing blessing and prosperity through the dance where commerce is blessed,” José Manuel Chung says, amid the explosion of fireworks.

The shops, for their part, hand out a bunch of green leaves that represents a meal, which is the offering made “in exchange for the blessing that is being given during the visit we are offering today on New Year’s Day,” said Chung, a member of the Fayen Charity Society, organizer of the activity in Chinatown, which welcomed the first Asian immigrants to settle in this sector.

The activities will extend to virtually all the capitals of the country’s ten provinces, while the Chinese community will also gather with their families to “celebrate the New Year” of the snake in communion, Chung added.

“The wood snake, as you know, is a very clever, very agile animal and this must be considered a prelude to the activities that supposedly govern us this year, which is the snake with its versatility, intelligence and cunning that the animal must have,” he said.