The Hong Kong restaurant, entering its 55th year in Harvard Square, is also hosting much of the square’s Chinese New Year celebration Sunday. (Photo: Adam Fagen)

Harvard Square plans its Chinese New Year Celebration for Sunday, including a parade through the square and cultural open house at the mainstay Hong Kong restaurant — just look for the red and gold silk lanterns hanging from wrought iron lampposts at 1238 Massachusetts Ave.

Reasons to celebrate, said Robin Lapidus, director of marketing and events for the Harvard Square Business Association, go beyond it being the year of the tiger; it is also the 55th Anniversary of the Hong Kong in Harvard Square.

“We celebrate Chinese New Year in Harvard Square with several generations of the Lee family. The Hong Kong has served as an icon at the entrance of Harvard Square for scores of students and visitors … a beacon and an embodiment of the diverse culture one finds upon entering Harvard Square,” Lapidus said in a press release.

The schedule of events starts at 1 p.m. as the Lion Dance Parade assembles in Winthrop Park, at JFK and Mount Auburn streets. At 1:30 p.m. the parades leads to the Hong Kong along JFK to Massachusetts Avenue, where there will be crafts (calligraphy, rice dough sculpting and lantern making) on the second floor and performance (puppet show and Chinese dance) on the third floor, all from 1 to 3 p.m.

Sunday is also the last day for a gallery exploration of the 12 Animals of the Chinese Zodiac at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge. Lapidus describes the exploration, free with museum admission (ranging from $6 to $9), in her release:

Experience the museum by discovering the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, each linked to a specimen in the galleries. Learn about the cultural significance and natural history of these animals and try your hand at drawing the animal assigned to the year of your birth.

The winner of the museum’s question of the month will also be drawn Sunday, but the contest — with the prize of a year’s household membership to the museum, an $85 value — can still be entered. The question: What are the names of all the tiger specimens on display in the museum and which tiger lives in the coldest climate?

Enter your answers, along with your name, e-mail and address at the museum reception desk for a chance to win.  Entrants need not be present at the drawing to win.