Chinese New Year is always explosive, and that has nothing to do with Y2K. It is a three-day whirl of festivities, dancing dragons and lions, prayers, fiery lanterns, "lucky money" for children and mountains of exquisite dishes.
Of course, this exuberant occasion is best enjoyed in China. Still, you can get a taste of it at the annual Nagasaki Lantern Festival, Feb. 5-19. It's a visual feast of red and gold inspired by the Chinese New Year, as each night 12,000 lanterns light up the downtown area. Thousands of people mill around the streets enjoying night stalls and dragon dances, acrobatics and processions.
The Lantern Festival was created by the city government about 10 years ago to brighten up the winter calendar, which may suggest some artifice. It's a lot of fun, though, and has greatly contributed to reviving a part of the city's downtown culture that seemed in danger of being swallowed by shopping and pachinko, and makes a colorful backdrop to a winter visit to Nagasaki.