Saturday, February 17, 2007

HAPPY PIGGY

This is year 2007, lunar year 4704, year of the pig.

Why Oink?

The origin of the 12 animal signs of Chinese astrology is unclear. Chinese legend attributes the creation of the signs to the Yellow Emperor in 2637 BC. The Yellow Emperor is a semi mythical figure in Chinese history. Other legends accredit Buddha (c.563-c.483 BC) with the creation of the 12-animal cycle. The story behind the legend is that the Buddha of the sky decided to hold a competition for the animals' places in the zodiac sequence. What would happen is that the first animal who reported to the Buddha would be placed first in the sequence and so on. Originally, the rat and the cat were friends, and agreed that they would wake each other up on the day of the competition so that they would have a head start ahead of the other animals. However, the rat was rather conniving, and decided to sleep in the ear of the ox. The rat knew that the ox was accustomed to waking up early. The next morning, the ox woke up very early, traveled across ponds and charged through valleys and just before they arrived in front of the Buddha, the rat jumped out of the tired ox's ear and gained first place in the sequence. The other animals followed, and you can see that the laziest animal, the pig, won the last spot in the sequence. The reason that there is no cat in the zodiac sequence is because the cat never woke up. This is the reason the cat and rat are enemies to this day.
(Source: http://members.shaw.ca/harrisonhotsprings/zodiac/zodiac.html)

Being a Porker This Year

If you were born in 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983 or 1995 - you were born under the sign of the pig. Like the pig, you are highly regarded for your chivalry and pureness of heart, and you often make friends for life. For pigs in 2007, any recent setbacks or obstacles can be overcome so look forward to a year in which to really shine, either personally or professionally. Go piggies! Go!
Famous porkers: Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, Thomas Jefferson, Ernest Hemingway, Alfred Hitchcock, Mahalia Jackson, David Letterman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

What Not to Do

Throughout the celebration of Chinese New Year (usually a total of 15 days), there are a few no-no’s:

No sweeping – It’s believed that you might sweep your luck away. If you must, sweep inward to keep the luck. All dirt and rubbish must be carried out the back door.

No utterance of curses and negative words – The New Year sets precedent. Curses and negative words bring bad luck to all, so they should not be uttered. Unlucky words, such as those that sound like “death”, should not be mentioned.

No crying – Once again, it’s believed that whatever you do during New Year celebration, that’s what you’ll be doing all year. “Therefore, children are tolerated and are not spanked, even though they are mischievous.” Any other time throughout the year, feel free to spank your child!

No knives & scissors – You don’t want to cut off the thread of good fortune, do you? Guess using a knife while cooking is allowed.

No washing hair – You might wash away good luck. Okay, you definitely should not wash your hair on Chinese New Year Day, but no washing for the entire 15-day celebration? That’s asking too much!

What Do People Do

Eat! Eat! Eat! -- Traditionally, families unite to share a huge meal on Chinese New Year’s Eve. It usually begins with a religious ceremony offering respect to Heaven and Earth, the Household God, and family ancestors. This communal dinner symbolizes and honors family unity and the continuation of generations.
After dinner, family members stay together chatting, playing games, and getting ready to “cross the years”. On the stroke of midnight on Chinese New Year’s Eve, people shoot off firecrackers as a way of send of the old and welcome the new. Doors and windows are also open at midnight to allow the old year to get out of the house.

Wear new, wear red, and “Gong Si Fa Cai” all around!
The New Year means a new beginning, so everything must be new! Red is a lucky number, so be sure to wear something red during the holidays. The first two words in “Gong si fa cai” means “congratulations”; the latter two mean “good fortune”. It’s the first thing you say when you open your mouth during Chinese New Year holidays. It even replaces “Hello” when you answer the phone.

Married daughters return home.
There’s an ancient Chinese saying, “Married daughters are like dumped-out water,” meaning there’s no way to get them back (Nice, eh?!). Married daughters become someone’s wife or mom. The second day of Chinese New Year is when they get to be the daughter again. If they’re newlyweds, the son-in-law must accompany his wife to return to her family. Why only newlyweds? He should accompany her no matter how long they’ve been married!

On the third day of Chinese New Year is when mice marry off their daughters, so go to bed early. It's based on a charming folklore. It's cute and all, but I still think it was something they made up to fill the spot 'cause there's really nothing special about the third day.

The Importance of the Kitchen
Food played a significant role in rural China. Back in the days when food was scarce, Chinese New Year was the only time when people were allowed to indulge in all kinds of yummy goodness. Lucky word “man” (“full”) is pasted on the rice urn. People give offerings to the Kitchen God on the fourth day of Chinese New Year because that’s the day they return from their trip to Heaven.

Now let's all pig out!

No comments:

Post a Comment