Tea Eggs that symbolize fertility, meat purses (Jiaozi) that represent money and prosperity, Buddha’s Delight, and uncut noodles which represent long life and must be twirled and slurped are all part of the traditional Chinese New Year menu that will begin this Sunday, and end with a spectacular Lantern festival on February 24th.
Check out Delish.com for more festive recipes to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Thanks to the remarkable, Betty White, for sharing this on FB.
From lawstude.net, which also has a wonderful photo gallery:
The Chinese Lunar Calendar is more than two thousand five hundred years older than our Roman Calendar. It never begins on January 1st, nor does it begin on the same date each year. It can begin any time between January 21st and February 18th, depending on the date of the New Moon in Aquarius. Each year is named for an animal and every twelve years this cycle begins again. The Chinese say that the animal ruling the year you were born will influence your life.
Snake people
People born in the Year of the Snake are considered wise and intense with a tendency to be high-tempered and vain.
From 12chinesezodiacsigns.com:
Snake people are deep. They say little and possess great wisdom. They never have to worry about money; they are financially fortunate.
Snake people are often quite vain, selfish, and a bit stingy. Yet they have tremendous sympathy for others and try to help those less fortunate.
Snake people tend to overdo, since they have doubts about other people's judgment and prefer to rely on themselves. They are determined in whatever they do and hate to fail. Although calm on the surface, they are intense and passionate.
Snake people are usually good-looking and sometimes have marital problems because they are fickle.
Corresponding Western sign is Taurus.
The Snake in the Grass: Keui Szu
From the epochtimes.com:
The 2013 Kuei Szu Year symbolizes action, energy, leadership, vitality.
The Chinese invented a system named Jikkan Junishi (literally 10 stems and 12 branches). The 10 heavenly stems referred yin-yang principles and the elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
The 12 earthly branches included 12 animals: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and wild boar.
What can we expect from the Snake Year? Internationally the Year of the Snake is renowned for protest movements, civil unrest or wars that escalate out of nowhere. It is a time for national leaders to exercise delicate diplomacy and swift action as soon as a crisis arises. There are promising omens that some sectors will witness the beginning of a financial recovery, but in others and in some countries, the fiscal downturn will get far worse. However, it will be a great year for innovations in art, music, fashion and the media.
From Rossmoor Highlands FB (my ol' So Cal stomping grounds):
The Chinese New Year is this Sunday Feb. 10, 2013. The legends say that your are not to do anything on this day that you do not want to do the rest of the year! No cleaning your house, as you do not want to sweep good luck away!
I love this holiday.
The Lantern festival brings an end to the Chinese New Year season. There are several traditions associated with this festival – cities have spectacular lantern displays, and children make their own paper lanterns.
The traditional food associated with the Lantern Festival are Yuanxiao Dumplings – sticky rice dumplings with sweet or savory fillings.
Wikipedia tells us:
There are many different beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival, however, it is likely to have had something to do with celebrating and cultivating positive relationships between people, families, nature and the higher beings that were believed to be responsible for bringing or returning the light each year.
Today, the displaying of lanterns is still a major event on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month throughout China.
Another popular activity at this festival is guessing lantern riddles (which became part of the festival during the Tang Dynasty)[citation needed]. These often contain messages of good fortune, family reunion, abundant harvest, prosperity and love.
Sounds like a fantastic celebration! Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái! Happy New Year and Welcome Year of the Snake!
Check out the slideshow and more photos of these beautiful lanterns at the link.
Update 2/9/13: Follow this link to Huffington Post for more photos and a video of the Chinese New Year celebrations.
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