We have just entered into the Year of the Dragon, or should I say Loong. One of my nephews was born under this zodiac sign. What does the coming year have in store for him?
Last year was the sign of the Rabbit, the year in which I was born. (I am aging myself) While every year has the potential to be great or momentous, generally when it is your zodiac sign, things can be luckier for you. Personally, it was one heck of a Rabbit year.
This was the first time in over a decade that we got to celebrate Chinese New Year all together in Saskatoon. The last time I remember nursing a very bad cold and was pregnant with our second child.
Even though my parents did not emphasize all the rules and traditions of Chinese New Year when we were growing up, I have tried to implement some of them into my adult life.
Some of the rules are a bit difficult to adhere to: like no knives on the first day of the Lunar new year because it symbolizes cutting wealth. Have you ever tried to go a whole day without using a knife? It can be tricky. Forces you to cut up all your fruits and veggies the day before and also learn how to cut with other utensils. Also no scissors, as this would invite quarrels with others. We’ve been pretty inventive with using other things to cut.
And no crying or unlucky words (death, sickness, poverty, ghosts) allowed. Since I can’t control how my kids behave or react to certain situations, this one is often hard to abide by. Apparently though, some parents will try to do anything to not let their kids cry.
Rules and traditions we do try to follow are:
1. Don’t throw away your garbage – signifies throwing away your luck or fortune. This means don’t put any bags in your outside bin. You can toss things into a household bin so you don’t have a counter full of accumulated trash.
2. Don’t wash your hair – washes away your good fortune! Most of our family members will have no problem with this as we are not daily showerers – is that a word? Wouldn’t you know it, on New Year’s Eve, I found lice in one of our kids’ hair!
3. Don’t wash any laundry – same as showering, it washes away your good luck. I will gladly not do laundry for a day or two. I was madly doing loads after I discovered the lice.
4. No sweeping and cleaning on the first day: it sweeps and wipes away wealth.
5. Giving red envelopes or hong bau to our kids – this has certain rules too. Dollar amounts should be even numbers, like $20, $50, $80 or $100. Never something with four though, as this sounds like “death” in Chinese. Bills ideally should be crisp and new. You are also supposed to take the envelope with two hands and not open it in front of the giver… or else? I guess it’s considered rude.
6. Having a bowl of oranges out, which symbolizes wealth.
7. Wearing red or new clothes: what better excuse to buy something new? My husband certainly needs new attire and I wouldn’t mind some!
Also, since Chinese New Year usually begins around the end of January or the beginning of February, I like to think that there is another chance to get things on track for “the new year”. Sort of like your back up plan.
What is your zodiac sign? What do you think is in store for you this coming year?
