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Here’s a little blurb I wrote for the Human Relations Commission:
The Year of the Pig begins February 18, 2007!
FAQ’s about the Lunar New Year Celebration
Why does New Year not begin on January 1?
What’s commonly referred to as “Chinese New Year” is celebrated by many Asian communities. It seems confusing that Chinese New Year begins on a slightly different calendar date every year. The reason is that it is calculated on the lunar calendar rather than the more static, Western Gregorian calendar.
In school I was taught to say “Gung Hay Fat Choy” as “Happy New Year” to my Asian friends. Is this accurate?
Yes and No. In Cantonese, “Gung Hay Fat Choy” is an appropriate and common new year social greeting, but it literally translates into “congratulations and wish you wealth”. Who wouldn’t appreciate a wish for that!? In Mandarin, you might also say “Shing nein kwai luh” which is “Happy New Year”.
What do families do for Lunar New Year?
Around the world each Lunar New Year, Asians celebrate by enjoying big reunion meals with family, by cleaning their homes, and wearing new clothes. Married adults bestow lucky red envelopes containing cash to children. People decorate their homes and businesses with vibrant celebratory colors like red and gold. Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday of the year and many Asian countries take five days or more holiday so that everyone can travel home to be with family.
What are some ways I can celebrate?
In the Bay Area, everyone can join the celebration by watching local Lunar New Year parades, and visiting street festivals. Here you can enjoy the traditional lion dancers and the strings of red firecrackers. You can go to the library to learn more about the year of the Pig, or about your own Zodiac sign animal. You may be invited to a holiday celebration dinner. If so, show up in your new outfit bearing a gift of oranges or candy, and be prepared to enjoy a great meal in a family setting!
Yes, indeedy, this weekend I spent time cleaning the house, paring down the clutter a bit, handing out chocolates and red envelopes, and preparing for a family chow-down on Saturday night. At times it seems I am becoming somehow "more" Chinese as the years go by. Surely I am not the only who is slowly somehow turning quite a bit like a parent over the years…it’s stealthy, but I hear the echo sometimes and I have to slap a hand over my mouth or across my forehead to restrain myself from speaking…"when we were kids we never had stuff like that…people these days don’t know how to work hard anymore…these traditions really mean something…"
For those of you interested, if ya don’t already know-you can look up your sign below:
http://www.chinatoday.com/culture/zodiac/zodiac.htm
Take it all with an extra large rock of salt, but I admit I like that it reads that I "would be an excellent boss, explorer, race car driver, or matador".
Except I would never be a matador, I like large, 4 legged, mammals far too much-but geez it’d be stupendously cool to have an entire matador ensemble to stomp around in.
In the movie Talk to Her, there is a female matador, and damn, when that tiny lady gets in her matador gear she becomes a brick house! Great movie but a fantabulous director BTW, but it verges to "bizarre and unsettling" as one reviewer put it.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/talk_to_her/
Happy Year of The Pig!
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