I read on the internet today is the Chinese New Year. Normally I am skeptical about things on line, but this seems legitimate. Apparently it is The Year of the Ox, which sounds better than last year’s animal, which was The Year of the Rat. 2 020 was indeed a ratty year. I don’t know much about the animal, other than the word ox retains the Old English way to pluralize a noun.* I personally don’t know an oxen, but I do know a lot of ratten – opps I meant to write rats.
What one does to celebrate The Chinese New Year is not clear. A friend on Facebook advised me to eat dumplings today for good luck. This sounds similar to Someone’s insistence of eating black-eyed peas on the first of January . I like dumplings more than I like black-eyed peas so I won’t say nothing against it. It is enough for my first crack at the holiday.
Twitter has a few shady remarks why Westerners would bother to celebrate the day as it isn’t proper new year’s day. I smell a rat (or is that an ox?). This sounds like another white man’s paranoia about ‘them’ infiltrating the white man’s world. I read the same rubbish every 5 May when there are grumbles why ‘we’ are celebrating ‘something Mexican’.** I am neither Chinese nor Mexican but what the hell. it’s jolly good fun. Every March I do something on St. Patrick’s Day although I don’t have a strand of Irish genes either. *** Any excuse for a party.
I have a face calendar full up with holidays of which I am clueless. Along with the dates it lists the origins of the holidays (mostly UK, Canada, and many from NZ of all places). What fascinates me most are the ones called ‘bank holidays”. One could have frequent parties if you adopted all of these these and did a little research what to do. The biggest challenge looks to be the ‘bank holidays”. What does one do to commemorate these days? Go to the bank? Extract money? With ATMs so ubiquitous this seems to spoil the fun.
On Twitter a friend is campaigning for celebrating the 31 of every month not unlike Halloween. She just finished “Janu-ween” although I forget what she did that day. What really needs a holiday is the month of August. Next time I am at the office I will have a look-see at the face calendar at August if there are any bank holidays or happenings in NZ that I could try. I hope the food is good.
*Once upon a time (over a thousand years ago) if you wanted to have more than one thing you added ‘-en’: ox/oxen; brother/brethren. Later on the ending ‘-s” took over.
**The irony of this one is few Mexicans in the area bother with this holiday of no importance. They look on the shenanigans with amused bewilderment and cringe a little at the nonsense the gringos are up to. On the other hand, they exploit the silliness and sales of foodstuffs skyrocket this day. Good for them.
***St. Patrick’s Day is the exception that on this day “Everyone is Irish”. I don’t hear “Everyone is Chinese” or “Everyone’s Mexican” but then Irish are white.
Spo-Reflections 
28 comments
February 12, 2021 at 7:45 AM
David Godfrey
As I recall fireworks to chase away the evil spirits of last year, bright colors, great food (most cultural celebrations include great food.) I am not sure what booze is appropriate for lunar new year. Happy New Year, you Ox,
February 12, 2021 at 8:56 AM
Urspo
I will skip the fireworks. I like them but they give Harper nervous breakdowns
February 12, 2021 at 7:58 AM
larrymuffin
While I lived in the Communist Paradise of China for a few years, the Lunar New Year based on the Asian Calendar is a holiday all over Asia. In Vietnam its the Tet in Korea its Solal, in Japan its the first day of Spring. The animals are based on Asian astrology and what the Jade Emperor who lives in Heaven has pre-ordained. To Celebrate Red is the colour, buy tons of firecrackers, that you set off during the festival, set up the Altar to your ancestors and burn incense and make an offering of food and money to them the money is usually burnt so it flies to heaven. There is an incredible array of wonderful dishes around the festival, not just dumplings. I remember the food because it was dishes I had never heard of. You also visit the local temples to honour the gods for good fortune. A very busy time. It is so much more fun to have a pantheon of gods instead of just one guy on a cross.
February 12, 2021 at 8:58 AM
Urspo
This sounds jolly good fun. Holidays are better when everyone is involved.
February 12, 2021 at 7:59 AM
Lori
You are supposed to eat ‘fat’ dumplings to have a prosperous year and noodles which represent long life. The Ox supposedly represents strong, slow, steady. I for one could use a year like that.
February 12, 2021 at 8:58 AM
Urspo
I am always for noodles! I will make some of them too!
February 12, 2021 at 8:30 AM
Old Lurker
So interesting that you refer to Irish as white, when of course they were not always considered so. (And let us not forget the accusations that JFK was unelectable because he was “a papist.”)
It is curious who gets to be white these days. In my neck of the woods, East and South Asians are “privileged minorities” who are almost white, in contrast to those Hispanic/Black/Indigenous people who do not get awarded that status.
February 12, 2021 at 8:59 AM
Urspo
You are right on that viz. Irish were considered/treated the same (bad) as non-white cultures were.
February 12, 2021 at 8:44 AM
martin
You might enjoy Regatta Day in St. John’s, Newfoundland – a holiday whose day of observance depends entirely on the weather – or, more specifically, the weather-related rowing conditions on Quidi Vidi Lake (known as the Pond). It is held on the first Wednesday of August or the first fine day thereafter. The bigwigs of the Regatta Committee (gentlemen like your BOD perhaps?) meet early in the morning and announce whether the holiday will go ahead or not. Some locals play Regatta Roulette the night before, i.e. attending a party replete with alcohol in the hope that the following day’s hangover will be manageable by not having to go to work.
February 12, 2021 at 9:02 AM
Urspo
This sounds good to me. I like boats – and Canadians !
February 12, 2021 at 9:07 AM
Sam
I’ve never seen American shy away from beer, a margarita, a dumpling, a crepe on any of these celebrations that have roots elsewhere than this stolen continent. I’d like to order a good bout of Asian food-not just Chinese as I learned from my Tibetan colleague it is a big deal in his family and lots of good food will be consumed this weekend.
February 12, 2021 at 9:11 AM
Urspo
It is nice to know holidays are more or less universal in their focus on food and good cheer with friends and family.
February 12, 2021 at 9:48 AM
anne marie in philly
lunar new year is celebrated with special foods, fireworks, dragon dances, and family. no different than our own celebrations. those of us who are “woke” like to learn about other cultures; MAGAts just don’t give a shit.
February 12, 2021 at 9:54 AM
Urspo
“They despise us then they imitate us” – a long time ‘rule’ of oppressors to their minions.
February 12, 2021 at 9:49 AM
Moving with Mitchell
You could always celebrate the Assumption of Mary on 15 August. (Although I have no idea what Mary assumed.) I like your point about everyone being Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.
February 12, 2021 at 9:55 AM
Urspo
Somehow this doesn’t elicit fabulous feasting, gaiety, and (more important) alcohol. Although I’ve seen all of this in Bruegel paintings. Maybe we can come up with something mid-August apropos for the summer.
Rolling down grass hills day sounds an idea.
February 12, 2021 at 9:51 AM
Debra She Who Seeks
Here’s a little traditional lunar new year ritual to encourage prosperity and abundance for the upcoming year. Exchange a penny (or other small coin) with another person while wishing them Gung Hey Fat Choy (Happy New Year)! Make sure each of you brings your own coin of equal value to give to one another — don’t just pass the same coin back and forth. You don’t want prosperity to simply swirl or circle around — you want it to come and stay with you!
February 12, 2021 at 9:56 AM
Urspo
Lovely! I will do so this evening with Someone over our bowl of dumplings!
February 12, 2021 at 10:51 AM
Mistress Borghese
If its the year of the bull, let us all hope there won’t be a lot of bullshit.
February 12, 2021 at 12:45 PM
Urspo
I haven’t learned what are the attributes of a year with “Ox” energy but do let’s hope it isn’t nonsense and implacable spirits.
February 12, 2021 at 2:41 PM
anne marie in philly
People born in the Year of the Ox are strong, reliable, fair and conscientious, inspiring confidence in others. They are also calm, patient, methodical and can be trusted. Although they say little they can be very opinionated. They believe strongly in themselves, but are also stubborn and hate to fail or be challenged.
February 12, 2021 at 2:57 PM
Robert
In the UK a bank holiday is a day the banks are closed and the whole country has a day off. In Australia only the banks have the day off.
Other industries traditionally had picnic days.
Picnic Day is a regional public holiday observed in Northern Territory of Australia.
Picnic Day is celebrated on the first Monday in August. On this day one imagines festivities include throwing snags on the barbie while enjoying coldies.
February 12, 2021 at 7:42 PM
Urspo
Thank you! I learned something!
I like the notion of bank holidays – with all off.
As for Picnic day this sounds quite good to adopt but not in August. Around these parts it is between 40-50C at that time of year and no good for picnics.
February 13, 2021 at 5:19 AM
Robert
At that time it is the dry season in tropical Darwin 😎
February 12, 2021 at 3:36 PM
Linda Practical Parsimony
My brother and father share the same day as their birthday. When he was alive that was our August celebration when we went to Memphis. We went once a month in the summer.
What is not to like about a holiday with food and fun?
I have a friend from Mexico who has been a citizen of the US for 30 years who gets upset and tells me he an American, too. He has always lived in the Americas. Yes, Central America is America. He also tells me he is white. Well, he looks very dark, not like the Mexicans who have Spanish heritage. I suppose we are all trying to make it and have fun along the way.
February 12, 2021 at 7:43 PM
Urspo
I have a friend of Chinese ancestry who is 6th or 7th generation Canadian. He is regularly asked ‘when his parents came over’
February 12, 2021 at 11:37 PM
Robzilla, Native of Slam Diego
For the past week or so, I’ve been celebrating the New Year in that Date A Live Spirit Pledge mobile game. Even though the characters are Japanese, I see a lot of things in there that are either Chinese or Japanese. It’s a nice departure from a lot of garbage I’ve seen IRL lately.
Oh, you may want to take a look on Twitter for videos of pets dressed up as Chinese New Year dragons. They are super cute!
February 13, 2021 at 4:46 AM
Parnassus
Happy New Year! I have been celebrating the new year here for a while now, but it seems that each year there is less and less that is done to make the time special. For example, when I first arrived the entire island shut down for about two weeks, but now most stores are open on New Year’s Day, and I am sure that by Monday everything will be back to normal.
There are so many special kinds of food that each family must pick and choose their own traditions. I was invited to my friends’ house for New Year’s Eve, and I’ll be eating the leftovers they sent home with me for days.
The usual greeting these days is Happy New Year, either in Mandarin (Xin Nian Kuai Le) or in English, even among natives. (This is what is lettered on your illustration at the top, but using the simplified characters used in mainland China.) Gung Hay Fat Choi is Cantonese–in Mandarin it would be Gong Xi Fa Cai, but it is pretty old-fashioned, at least in Taiwan, and usually just printed on greeting cards and red envelopes.
–Jim