CHICAGO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Braving the cold weather with a temperature around -16 degrees Celsius, nearly 100 people gathered in Chinatown south of downtown Chicago Saturday afternoon to kick off the celebration of Chinese Lunar New Year, the Year of the Ox, which falls on Feb. 12.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sent a congratulatory letter to the event.

Traditional Chinese lion dance and dragon dance were performed; red envelopes and Ox year mascots were distributed at the event.

The whole Chinatown is brimmed with festive atmosphere. Trees along the road are decorated with red lanterns and the red plates of "Happiness." All stores are crowded with people doing holiday shopping.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all Chinese New Year celebrations will be live streaming online. Starting from Sunday, New Year parties will start one after another, organized by different Chinese communities in Chicago.

Formed around 1912, Chicago's Chinatown is one of the largest concentrations of Chinese people in the United States, with over a third of Chicago's Chinese population residing there. Enditem