The 27th Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade and Festival is being held today in Lower Manhattan. Celebrations kicking off the Year of the Snake began on Jan. 29. This year was the first year that New York City public school students had the holiday off. CUNY campuses also observed the holiday for the first time this year.

The special Chinese year of the wood snake is about transformation and change — and those celebrating it in Manhattan’s Chinatown on Sunday said even the downpour couldn’t dampen