The Lunar New Year, which starts tomorrow, is the biggest and most important festival of the year for millions upon millions of Chinese – as well as other Asians, like the Vietnamese, who celebrate Tet – all over the world.
In China this is when the great migration takes place, as those who have gone off to the cities or other provinces for work or study or a new life make their way home, to gather around the family hearth – oui oh, as my grandmother used to say – to celebrate this most auspicious occasion, also called the Spring Festival. Airports, train, bus and ferry stations are jampacked, and it is this great migration that is believed to have facilitated the spread of the coronavirus in 2019. That was the Year of the Pig, from Feb. 5, 2019 to Jan. 24, 2020.
We are entering the Year of the Wood Snake. There are 12 animals – Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig and as kids we learned to recite these in rapid succession in Hokkien – and five elements – Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Thus when you reach the age of 60, you would have completed a full cycle of the 12 animals and five elements, a significant milestone.
Because the Lunar New Year begins on different dates each year in the solar-based Gregorian or Western calendar, those born in late January to early February should check when the new year started in their birth year (you can Google this). For example, a baby born today is still a Dragon (a much desired sign), whereas one born after midnight would be a Snake.
The lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year, and every so often a leap month or double month is added to even things out. This year there is a second sixth month, from July 25 to Aug. 22, so the dreaded seventh or Ghost Month runs from Aug. 23 to Sept. 21.
The animal signs make it easy to determine one’s age, which comes in handy when seeking prospective mates for sons. In the old days, I remember my aunts – true forerunners of Marites – would huddle whenever a gai xiao (introduction) was to be made for a male cousin (I don’t think the scrutiny was as intense for boys to be paired with female cousins; we sure were a sexist lot!) – what sign the girl was born under, what month, etc. etc. There was one occasion when a girl’s alleged sign was found out to have been falsified; that’s done to make the girl younger than she really was, or else to hide the fact that she was a Tiger, then considered a no-no to be bringing in to the family!
These days it doesn’t seem to matter much anymore, although some families still consult geomancers or fortune tellers to determine the compatibility of two prospective partners. I don’t know if couples were still racing to have Dragon babies this year, or if that is as passé as including orinolas in the dowry.
It has become common belief that a person’s animal sign affects his/her character, and that sign’s compatibility with the incoming year could determine one’s fortune for the year. One’s element is likewise believed to affect one’s destiny and influence personality.
Our STARweek magazine used to have an annual feature that gave a comprehensive outlook for each of the 12 signs at the start of the lunar year, and weeks before that we’d get calls from readers asking when the feature would be running. These days there are more than enough feng shui “experts” to dish out predictions for the coming year, as well as do’s and don’ts, lucky colors (I haven’t read that mocha mousse, Pantone’s color of the year, will be lucky), lucky foods (the 13 round fruits for prosperity has been debunked as a Chinese tradition), charms and amulets to have on hand, etc.
The Year of the Wood Snake is supposed to be bursting with creativity and innovation. Snakes are said to be wise, crafty, good communicators (the snake did talk Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, right?), deep thinkers and problem solvers, but they can also be vain, stubborn and sceptical, cynical almost.
There are many famous people born in the Year of the Snake; two come to mind that embody the serpentine characteristics – Taylor Swift (born Dec. 13, 1989, an Earth Snake) who is certainly creative and probably vain, and Ramon S. Ang (born Jan. 14, 1954, a Water Snake), a problem solver who we are counting on to solve the problems of the NAIA, and may he also solve the problem of the often malfunctioning RFID scanners at the NAIA-X and SLEX toll booths.
The new year celebration lasts two weeks, until the 15th day (Feb. 12), the first full moon of the year. The occasion is celebrated with lanterns – thus it is also referred to as the Lantern Festival – and eating rice balls with fillings of red bean or black sesame paste or crushed peanuts. I don’t know if this is a legitimate part of tradition, but kids can supposedly go around collecting ang bao (red envelopes with money) from elders until the 15th day of the new year.
I’m taking a day off from work today, the eve of the Lunar New Year, to prepare for our family dinner tonight. Actually, preparations started over the weekend, since we only have three stoves and three pairs of hands to do all the work, so I’ve had to schedule and map out the sequence of things to be done. It’s quite a big deal, this dinner.
So excuse me while I go back to the kitchen to check on how my “family prosperity soup” (12 ingredients simmered for 12 hours) is coming along and if the fish have been turned in their marinade and the dumplings ready for steaming. I also have to prepare the ang bao for my guests.
But let me take this chance to wish you all xin nian kwai leh, wan shr ru yi – happy new year and may all things turn out as you intend.