For common people, the Spring Festival celebrations are more than just entertainment.

"It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly cleanse the house, in order to sweep away any bad fortune and to make way for good luck coming in the new year," Chen said.

It is not unusual, Chen said, to see windows and doors of Asian American homes decorated with red colored paper cut outs carrying popular themes of good fortune, happiness, wealth or longevity.

Bin Lu, an attorney born in northern China who came to Houston in 1996, said he enjoyed both the home and festival traditions of the Chinese New Year.

"I come from that culture. My wife and children come from northern China, where we invite family and friends over during the Chinese New Year to make dumplings and have some family reunion time," said 52-year-old Lu.

He planned to attend local festivities and take his family to see the dragon and lion dancing as well as firecracker performance staged by local Asian communities.

"I'm very impressed," Lu said, "The Asian community of Houston is growing and as it grows, so does the celebration of the Chinese New Year."

"For the second year in a row, my law firm has offered me the opportunity to take the day off from work, with pay, and stay at home with my family," Lu said, "It's a paid holiday now for Asians at my company."

He expected the Chinese New Year to become an official holiday for Houston because of the rapidly growing Asian population in the city.

Quattro believes the Chinese Lunar New Year will become a celebration for people of all cultures.

"What's really fun is to see people of different cultures joining in the celebration," Quattro said, "Everyone likes a dragon dancer and a party."