Monday, January 23, 2012

Chinese New Year (of the dragon) 2012

Happy Chinese (Lunar) New Year! It is officially the year of the "dragon". I've been rooting around the internet and have discovered (thru many sources) that: to the Chinese, dragons are mystical creatures that always come from the sky (heaven). It is the only Chinese zodiac symbol that is mystical and not taken from real life so it is special. New years takes place on January 23rd, 2012 along with the "new moon". The celebration goes on for 15 days, right up until the "full moon". This is the biggest Chinese holiday there is. Families get together and celebrate, pay respects to family members past, enjoy feasting (often on fish. oranges and sweets), dancing (the lion dance) to clear out old bad luck and usher in good, and culminating with a "lantern" festival on the last day. Feng shui says: clean your house before new years, wear new clothes and the color red, keep oranges around, display a dragon in your home and give out small bits of money to children and the underpriviledged in red envelopes. I'm not Chinese but it sounds like a good reason to celebrate to me! Anyone up for some "moo goo gai pan"? Think I'll have some tonight and maybe even get me a small dragon statue. Can't hurt! Happy New Year 2012 (Year of the Dragon).

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