A Year of the Water Tiger

The Lunar new year is almost upon us once more! Lunar new year has to be one of my favourite times of the year. It serves as a do-over for those of us who have already failed in our new years resolutions. I also have incredibly fond memories of celebrating with friends both abroad and at home. Nights at university making dumplings by hand and steaming them. Pooling our money together to splash out on luxuriously succulent fish and other seafood dishes, sitting on the warm heated floor of tiny apartments downing warm bowls of ddeok mandu guk. Even the slight twinge of envy when friends would share how many red envelopes they’ve received from family brings back cozy feelings of nostalgia. While the Lunar New Year is not a celebration that my family undertook it remains an important celebration among my chosen family and those who have been with me since adulthood.

I still remember the year I celebrated Lunar New Year in China, unprepared for the mass migration where all city dwellers would leave to return to their hometown for weeks on end leaving our university neighbourhood empty with all shops closed. I remember desperately checking from my dorm room window every night anxiously waiting for the owners of my favourite restaurant to return so I didn’t have to keep ordering McDonalds and other western style cooking I was desperate to escape from. I remember telling myself this would be the last Lunar New Year that I sat at home alone waiting for friends and neighbours to return to Nanjing. That I too would embrace the holiday and make the most of the culture I was living in. Since then I’ve paid special attention to the Lunar New Year.

Now, I am sure most of us know the mythology and are aware of our Chinese zodiac signs (Year of the Monkey represent!) But how much do we westerners really know about the Lunar New Year holiday? For one, do you know that it not just celebrated in China but also, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia and other South East Asian countries?

Another interesting thing of note is that the Lunar New Year festival actually lasts for two weeks or 15 days from the start of the new moon until the full moon. This is usually marked in some countries with the Lantern festival, where sweets are consumed and beautiful paper lanterns are set off into the sky to mark the occasion and officially end the celebrations.

Finally, did you know that there are five elements associated with each zodiac year; metal, water, wood, fire and earth and that the elements gives more insight into the zodiac year? Furthermore, some animals are in natural opposition with each other and that living through your zodiac year does not guarantee good luck or prosperity. This one was the most interesting thing I learned as I assumed it was a given that your zodiac year should be considered your lucky year.

What interesting facts about the Lunar New Year do you know or have you learned? Please share in the comments!

And to all Happy Lunar New Year wherever you happen to be!