Monday marks the official start of the Chinese New Year — it's lunar year 4720 — and the zodiac sign is auspicious. It's the year of the dragon, the most powerful symbol on the calendar.

Celebrations have already started overseas, as this video of impressive fireworks in Beijing shows:

And in SF, the Chinatown event calendar is also showing activities; Peking Acrobats, for instance, were at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley last week. Red envelopes, where traditionally gifts of money in even-numbered increments are given, can be seen in Chinatown shops and the feasts have already begun.

But here in SF, most of the public event action happens around the famous Chinese New Year Parade, slated for Feb. 11. To get in the mood, though, take this dragons in literature quiz, from the UK Guardian. Seems that they are an irresistible creature, even when it's not their year.