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Beautifully and elaborately drawn faces; the crowd awash in red; the heads of dragons and lions bobbing up and down the glitter- and confetti-strewn asphalt; and, of course, images of this year’s zodiac animal, the monkey. While miles away from the epicenter of Chinese New Year, New York City’s streets had filled with those reveling in the celebration of the biggest holiday on the lunar calendar, sparing no details.

It was this stronghold on century-old traditions, from masks and headdresses to silken pajamas, that caught the eye of photographer, Teddy Fitzhugh, who trained his eye on the crowds gathered to welcome the Year of the Monkey as a light sprinkling of snow fell on the city. “The costumes, performances, crowds: Everything had a beautiful politeness about it right up until the huge explosions of the firecrackers,” Fitzhugh says. Best of all, the spectacle isn’t over yet: The Chinese New Year festival lasts 15 days.

Get inspired for yet another landmark celebration in New York City’s Chinatown—today’s parade and street party commence at 1:00 p.m., a look at the electrifying images that mark a year full of adventure and ambition in tradition-filled fashion.