NEW YORK - Tuesday is the first day of the Lunar New Year on the traditional Chinese Calendar. 

Asia says goodbye to the year of the dog and welcomes the year of the pig.

The 15-day celebration is about family, friends, luck and prosperity.

Several events will be taking place around the city to kick off the new year.

Pearl River Mart is helping New Yorkers celebrate. The store has been around since 1971.

It has locations in TriBeCa, Chelsea Market, and now the Museum of Chinese in America.

In collaboration with the museum, the store is hosting several Lunar New Year events number of events over the next couple of weeks.

There are a few ways to unlock the full potential of the year of the pig.

"The Lunar New Year, it's about food, it's about family, it's about fortune. It is thought that people can increase their luck for the year by eating the right foods so really anyone can celebrate. Lucky foods include dumplings, which symbolize wealth and are in the shape of the ingot, the ancient Chinese currency. Noodles for long life, and many types of snacks, like seeds for fertility and candied melon for good health. Tangerines and oranges as you've mentioned are round and whole and sound like the Chinese words for wealth and luck so there are lots of options," said Pearl River Mart President Joanne Kwong.

Mayor Bill de Blasio will speak at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association's new year event in Chinatown Tuesday afternoon.

And the lunar New Year Parade will take place on Sunday in Lower Manhattan.

The celebration will end after 15 days with a lantern ceremony to officially close the celebration period.