Happy Chinese New Year! Today is the most important of Chinese holidays, celebrated by billions of people across the world. Festivities traditionally last for 15 days and culminate with the Lantern Festival on February 18, 2014.
The Year of the Horse is a lucky one, of course-- the horse is bright, intelligent, friendly, energetic and a good friend.
In ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve animals came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality.
Those born in horse years are cheerful, skillful with money, perceptive, witty, talented and good with their hands. Chopin and Rembrandt were born in the year of the horse, so it must be true.
Is your house clean? It's customary for every family to cleanse their home, sweeping away the bad luck and making room for the good fortune in the coming year.
If your January 1 resolutions are getting a bit tired, just think of Chinese New Year as a chance to start afresh. The holiday is like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve all rolled into one, with gift-giving, decorating, and traditional meals combined with gratitude and reflection on the past year, and wishes for the coming one.
Chinese New Year is an important time for gift-giving. The Costco where I shop near downtown Seattle is an ethnic bazaar of diversity on any day of the week, and Seattle has a large Asian population. This week I saw big potted chrysanthemums and gift baskets there for the Chinese holiday, all elaborately decorated with the lucky color red.
No comments:
Post a Comment