Happy Monday, News Viewers, welcome to our Monday Free Chat in this, the Year of the Rabbit.
Those born in the Year of the Rabbit are said to be talented at many things. They are affectionate people, often excelling at forming close relationships.However, they also appreciate tranquility and seek out peace.
China’s Lunar New Year is known as the Spring Festival or Chūnjiéin Mandarin, while Koreans call it Seollal and Vietnamese refer to it as Tết.Tied to the lunar calendar, the holiday began as a time for feasting and to honor household and heavenly deities, as well as ancestors. The New Year typically begins with the first new moon that occurs between the end of January and spans the first 15 days of the first month of the lunar calendar—until the full moon arrives.
Each year in the Lunar calendar is represented by one of 12 zodiac animals included in the cycle of 12 stations or “signs” along the apparent path of the sun through the cosmos.
The 12 zodiac animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. In addition to the animals, five elements of earth, water, fire, wood and metal are also mapped onto the traditional lunar calendar. Each year is associated with an animal that corresponds to an element.
In the Five Elements theory, it is the interaction between the elements that both creates and destroys energy. When the elements interact, like the opposing sides of a yin yang symbol, progress (whether positive or negative) is inevitable.
The cycle of the Five Elements goes in a specific order and can be remembered through noting the different processes of creation and destruction through them. The creating (generative) interactions are:
- Wood starts a Fire
- Fire creates Earth
- Earth holds Metal
- Metal carries Water
- Water feeds Wood
The destruction (overcoming) interactions are:
- Fire melts Metal
- Metal chops Wood
- Wood separates the Earth
- Earth absorbs Water
- Water puts out Fire
In the Five Elements Theory, creation and destruction are complementary processes in which the ultimate goal is harmony.
Most Chinese New Year foods symbolize goals and manifestations for uthe year ahead — longevity noodles (good fortune), Nian Goa (progress), Peking duck (loyalty) and dumplings (wealth) all serve some symbolic purpose on the table.
Nature, community, nourishment, expectation and preparation for a new year. . . .
What’s keeping your mind occupied today on this 2nd day of the Lunar New Year? Let’s talk about it— this is an open forum where all topics are on the table, as long as they stay within community expectations of civility. Today we honor the new year and all of us who are grieving, recovering, healing, enjoying and trudging today.
History.com and Good Housekeeping and Purewow.com and The Almanac