Just when you thought you’d recovered from your last New Year’s party, revelers from east of Georgetown to the Far East are gearing up to rip open new calendars and ring in their own new year.

Next Sunday, tens of thousands of people will flood Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown to celebrate the first day of the Chinese New Year. Feb. 18 marks the beginning of year 4705 on the Chinese calendar, and as the Year of the Boar begins, festivities ranging from traditional dragon dancing to performances by local high schools will rock the blocks of H through Eye and draw nearly 50,000 revelers and 200 police officers into the streets.

The parade starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday and boasts musical entertainment, lion and dragon dances, painting and calligraphy. If nothing tickles your nostrils quite like the pleasant aroma of egg rolls mixed with the sulfuric odor of firecrackers, hop the Metro over to the Gallery Place/Chinatown stop.

The Fourth of July won’t hold a Roman candle to the pyrotechnics to be unleashed this weekend. Attendees will light the fuse of a five-story-tall firecracker. After the smoke clears, special stamps commemorating the Year of the Boar will be on sale, says Jeanny Ho, Chinatown’s contact for the festivities.

And the best part? “All this is free,” Ho says.

In addition, the Chinatown Community Cultural Center will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will feature unique folk dances, Kung Fu performances and educational displays designed to highlight the traditions of the Chinese New Year.

“The importance of Chinese New Year lies in the celebration of friends and family past, present and future,” says Linda Wang, an employee at the CCCC.

After the parade ends, the festivities continue for 15 more days with scrumptious cuisine, decorative drawings, folk dances, music performances and other domestic traditions. People will continue the age-old holiday custom of distributing “hong bao,” red envelopes filled with money or key chains. Expect to see a lot of the color during the festivities — it symbolizes good fortune.

On the streets of Chinatown, local merchants are already gearing up for next week’s events, and not just in hopes of boosted profits. Jack Wang, a waiter at the Tony Cheng Restaurant on H Street, said the holiday does not necessarily mean a boost in business considering its familial and sometimes private nature. Across the street, Su Qing of Szechuan House Restaurant showed off popular Chinese buns and cakes and said people will come in to buy Chinese foods for the holiday.

Back on the Hilltop, some Georgetown students are busy prepping for New Year’s on their own. Spearheaded by the Chinese Student Alliance, several events will celebrate the new year. On New Year’s Eve, an estimated 200 students will attend CSA’s free countdown dance party at the Riverside Lounge in New South. On Feb. 18, while the party rages in Chinatown, there will be a Lunar New Year Celebration in the ICC Galleria offering free food, games and crafts.

The events will culminate in the popular Chinese New Year Ball on Feb. 24, where attendees will enjoy a 10-course meal followed by dancing at the Chinatown Garden restaurant in Chinatown. A host of other events leading up to the ball will take place over the next week, including a Chinese language dinner, a dumpling workshop and a movie night featuring The Infernal, the Chinese film that inspired The Departed.

Some students have already jumped into the New Year’s celebration. At the end of January, a group of Georgetown students attended the Chinese New Year Spectacular, a traditional music and dancing show at The George Washington University.

Also on display in the ICC, the inaugural Chinese New Year Photo Contest will feature 80 photographs, selected from a pool of more than 400 submissions that express some aspect of Chinese culture. The CSA committee will choose six winners with the help of faculty members including Daniel Porterfield, vice president for public affairs and strategic development. The photos will be on display from Feb. 20 to March 2 in the Galleria.

CSA co-president Iris Priddy (MSB ’07) explained that the events are especially important because most students can no longer welcome the New Year with their families. Some students go home if they live nearby, but many rely on the camaraderie found at CSA functions.

“It’s nice to have a way to celebrate,” Priddy says.

She also emphasizes that most of the events involve students from various clubs, including Georgetown Asian-American Student Association. Other countries observe the lunar New Year, and all students are encouraged to participate if they have an interest in learning about Chinese culture.

The coming weeks will offer a unique perspective on Chinese customs and a great chance for students to get a taste of the Orient. For those content to welcome in 4,705 here on the Hilltop, tickets for CSA’s festivities will be available for $25 throughout the week.

Whether through forceful fireworks or dancing dragons, the Chinese New Year promises not to be a Boar.