The 2009 Lunar New Year:Year of the Ox

Excerpts from today's Panorama Magazine(http://www.panorama.com.ph)
January 25,2009


TODAY, our Chinese brothers and sisters around the world is welcoming the Year of the Earth Ox, which "symbolizes strength gathers through unity, harmony, obedience, courage and hard slog." It is expected to be a "dutiful, family oriented and dependable year."



The Chinese New Year is celebrated earlier this year (last year’s fell on February 7), which follows the lunar year cycle. The celebration may fall on any day from January 21 to February 21, depending on when the first new moon of the lunar year comes. The holiday usually falls on the second (very rarely third) new moon after the winter solstice.

Each year is named for one of twelve animals in turn: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Alongside the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac there is a 10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each of the ten heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Chinese astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The elements are rotated every two years while a yin and yang association alternates every year. The elements are thus distinguished: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. These produce a combined cycle that repeats every 60 years. For example, the year of the Yang Fire Rat occurred in 1936 and in 1996, 60 years apart.

The Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is the first day of the Chinese (Lunar) calendar. It is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is the time of the largest human migration, when migrant workers in China, as well as overseas Chinese around the world travel home to have reunion dinners with their families on New Year’s Eve.

It is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended family, usually their parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents. Members of the family who are married give red packets (ang pao) containing cash to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers. Red is the favorite color for Chinese New Year clothing and decorations, as it is said to bring good luck. Since it symbolizes fire, it is believed to ward away evil.

Doors are decorated with gold and red scrolls that are inscribed with wishes with good charms, and windows are opened at midnight to let out the evil of the old year and let in the luck and prosperity of the New Year. The most colorful New Year ritual is the dragon dance or lion dance. An enormous dragon/lion head, with a long body of colorful fabric, performs an energetic dance manipulated by skilled operators. There is a big parade in the Binondo that features the Manila Chinatown Millennium Dragon that is 228 feet long and is brightly colored with the colors of Philippine flag. It is a symbolic ritual to usher in the Lunar New Year as well as to evict bad spirits from the premises.

The foods served during Chinese New Year are mostly symbolic since Chinese believe food can directly affect one’s fortune in the coming year. Dining tables are loaded with food to ensure prosperity and abundance in the new year. Dishes or ingredients are chosen that will bring good luck, long life, and happiness.

The Chinese New Year signifies the end of winter and is a celebration to welcome spring in the company of family and friends, with Chinese music and dance, lanterns and feasts, and the thundering beat of drums, and fireworks to dispel the bad and bring in good luck.

Kung Hei Fat Choi!