Chinese New Year: Year of The Rabbit
Happy New Year! Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year and it lasts until February 5th. This year marks the year of the Rabbit.
Not unlike our Western New Year, it is a time of saying goodbye to the previous year and setting intentions and preparing for the new one. It is a time to spend with friends and family.
The Rabbit is the fourth of all zodiac animals. Legend has it the Rabbit was proud—arrogant even—of its speed. He was neighbors with Ox and always made fun of how slow Ox was. One day, the Jade Emperor said the zodiac order would be decided by the order in which the animals arrived at his party. Rabbit set off at daybreak. But when he got there, no other animals were in sight. Thinking that he would obviously be first, he went off to the side and napped. However, when he woke up, three other animals had already arrived. One of them was the Ox he had always looked down upon.
Rabbit Personality
To outsiders, the Rabbit’s kindness may make them seem soft and weak. In truth, the Rabbit’s quiet personality hides their confidence and strength. They are steadily moving towards their goal, no matter what negativity the others give them.
With their good reasoning skills and attention to detail, they make great scholars. They are socializers with an attractive aura. However, they find it hard to open up to others and often turn to escapism.
A plain and routine life is not their style. Though conservative and careful in their actions, they need surprises every so often to spice things up.
CELEBRATING THE CHINESE NEW YEAR
The Chinese New Year is based on the seasons in accordance to the lunar calendar, which is why it comes sometime in late January or in early February. This holiday is considered the welcoming of spring and with new beginnings, this special time signifies the invitation of year-round happiness, prosperity, good health, and long life. People all over the world will be celebrating so if you live in a city with an Asian population, you might be able to catch a dragon parade or some lion dances which are some of the festivities celebrated during the new year. Here are some other traditions you can follow if you want to participate:
New Years Reunion Dinner: New Years Eve is typically spent with family and the meal you have together is believed to be the most important of the year. Fish is eaten because the word for fish in Chinese also sounds like the word for surplus. Other "lucky" foods include dumplings, longevity noodles, spring rolls, sweet rice balls, and glutinous rice cakes.
Wear Red: To the Chinese, red is a lucky and cheerful color. People dress in red for the New Year and decorate streets and buildings in red. Red lanterns are commonly seen hanging during the celebrations.
Put Out a Bowl of Mandarin Oranges: They are a symbol of prosperity, longevity, and good fortune. Offer them to any guests who visits your home.
Get Some Fire Crackers: It has long been a Chinese tradition to set off firecrackers when the New Year clock strikes. The tradition is to set off one string of small firecrackers first, followed by three big firecrackers, which symbolize "sounding out" the old year and "sounding in" the new year. The louder the three firecrackers, the better and luckier it’s believed it will be for business and farming in the coming year.