Celebration was a first for the public library

Landace Montero, 73, who is Asian, was among the 40 or so people who attended the performance, She was raised in Manhattan’s Chinatown, and now lives in Atlantic Beach.

“I absolutely enjoyed this,” Montero, a marketing executive, said afterward. “This is the first time I have seen this type of celebration outside of Chinatown.”

The performance was a first for the library. There was a Lunar New Year event in Kennedy Plaza last year, a Toro Nagashi Lantern Festival, also sponsored by Artists in Partnership as well as Arts in the Plaza. In ancient China, women were not permitted to be outside by themselves, and were virtually housebound unless accompanied by a man. During the Lantern Festival, they were allowed to go outside and meet people. The festival traces its roots back more than 2,000 years, and is linked to the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, when Buddhism was emerging in China.

On Sunday, the Ryu Shu Kan center, led by Gerard and Hiroko Senese, featured drumming and dancing. The teenage performers and the Seneses all wore light-colored tops and black pants. Gerard Senese said that the center teaches karate and other martial arts, as well as Asian culture.

“The Lunar cycle ends today, and in Asia it’s the beginning of spring,” Senese explained. “There they start planting in the rice paddies.” Drums, he said, are sounded to awaken the gods as people pray for a good planting season.

The performance by the Chinese Center of Long Island featured Asian music and dancing flower girls who formed a perfect circle and the end of their show.

New York City has a large annual Lunar New Year parade, and there are events celebrating the holiday in 40