Lunar New Year 2023 – Year of the Rabbit – January 22, 2023

If you’ve been following my blog and saw my Lunar New Year post last year, you won’t be surprised by this post. Yes, it has become an annual tradition of mine. And traditions are always good, right?

When I posted about the Year of the Tiger, I didn’t have the winter blues. But….I experienced the blues afterwards, unfortunately. And I’m hoping to fight the blues this winter because I’m at higher risk for it, since both of my parents died. My father on Christmas Day and my mother 11 days later. If you read my last blog post, you will know that he was admitted to hospice on 1/2. He died 3 days later on 1/5. He was tired of fighting all his physical and mental issues for the past 3 years. And he was ready, especially when he found out that my father was gone.

Like last year, I am still participating in my hometown’s initiative to encourage diversity and inclusion within my community. It takes a village–both literally and figuratively– to combat racism, because racism exists in all communities, whether you know it or not. The more community members get involved in such initiatives, the better off all communities will be! Racism comes from stereotypes that comes from ignorance that comes from fear. Communication and information have the power to eradicate all of that! But it requires a unified effort from within each community.

And like last year, I was asked to help my local diversity group come up with information to share about the Lunar New Year. I am honored to be part of the Advisory Council for that group and they have adapted the information below to share with our community.

Interesting Facts about the Lunar New Year

I made one 1-pager which contains 8 (8 is a lucky number for Chinese) key points in the Lunar New Year on one side and a small stroke order tutorial for the tiger character in Chinese and a fun Word Search activity on the other side. This piece is great for sharing with kids and raising their interest and appreciation at a young age of East Asian cultures celebrating the Lunar New Year!

The information contained in my blog post below is longer and cannot be jammed into a 1-page document about the Lunar New Year. Some of the information was even new to me, and it was all so fascinating that I had to share! Thanks for reading and sharing!

The largest human migration in the world

Did you know that 3 billion trips are made every year (including return trips) to visit relatives by plane, train and car to celebrate Chinese New Year? Referred to as chunyun (春运), this is the travel period up to 15 days before China’s week-long Spring Festival celebration (or chunjie (春) and up to 40 days. This is up to 40 days in part due to a lack of options in transportation available for millions to make each one-way journey in the same time frame. chunjie is over. This year, chunjie starts on January 31 (New Year’s Eve) and ends on February 6. In modern China, most of the elderly parents still live in the rural villages of their ancestors, while the younger generations work in the cities. Why do they call it the Spring Festival when it takes place during the winter? The Festival marks the end of the coldest days of winter, where people welcome the coming spring by planting, representing new beginnings and bags the beginning.

YEAR OF THE RABBIT

Source: Utica College

The Rabbit is the fourth sign of the Chinese Zodiac. The 3 words that best describe the Rabbit: calm and gentle, but persistent. The Rabbit is also quietly charismatic, kind, thoughtful, loyal, prudent, tactful, intuitive, considerate, intelligent, diplomatic, peace-loving, refined, forgiving, careful, and generous. In general, they are relatively calm, do not show aggressive behavior, and avoid confrontation at all costs.

Rabbits are often relied upon for their wise counsel, or as a person in whom to place important trust in a personal friendship or a business. Despite (or because of) their outwardly calm demeanor, rabbits are very shrewd in business and may never show their hand until the right moment. They are also quick to escape from any perceived danger and intuitively know when to fold – and run! Rabbits are usually careful when it comes to their finances. Great speakers, Rabbits make excellent diplomats, politicians and writers. Quite creative, they can also make great painters or musicians because of their sense of beauty and their love of creativity.

As cautious as they are in their romantic dealings, rabbits will not immediately commit to any person.

Introverted and private individuals by nature, Rabbits tend to give the impression of being elusive or mysterious. At the same time, they make friends with their friends.

When angry about something, they approach it calmly and considerately, hardly ever raising their voice. Rabbits tend to avoid conflict as much as possible, avoiding competitive and aggressive situations. Intuitive in nature, they are quite diligent and pay attention to the situations developing around them. They are smart and quick, and can talk themselves into or out of most situations without a problem. Although they have a gentle exterior, they are quite strong-minded and have a very strong will. Rabbits pursue their goals throughout their lives in a specific and orderly manner. They do things slowly and deliberately because of their caution.

Most and Incompatible Signs

Best Signs/Auspicious Years: Pig, Dog
Semi-Compatible Signs: Dragon, Rat
Incompatible Signs: Rooster, Rat

Some famous people born in the year of the RABBIT

My collection of red envelopes saved over the years

More than red Chinese New Year envelopes

Etiquette:

1. Gift crisp, new bills, as gifting dirty or wrinkled bills is not a good idea.

2. Accept a red envelope with both hands and express gratitude using an appropriate phrase. It is considered impolite to accept a red envelope with one hand and not express gratitude using the appropriate phrase.

3. Don’t gift coins.

4. Do not give amounts that start with the number 4, such as $4, $40 or $400. The Chinese number ‘4’ means ‘death’ and is therefore considered unlucky. Even numbers are better than odd numbers. The number ‘8’ is considered lucky, so gifts like $8, $80 or $88 are best.

5. Don’t open your red envelope in front of the person who gave it to you.

Taboos and Superstitions

Like almost every other culture around the world, there are many taboos and superstitions that have been adapted over the centuries, all with the goal of attracting good fortune in the New Year and protecting against bad luck.

Things to do:

• Talk about good, fun things to set the tone for the new year
• Pay off your debts before the new year begins
• Wear red because red is the luckiest color

Must not:

• Do not cut your hair during the New Year, as this will cause the connections to be broken
• Do not wear black or white, as both colors are associated with mourning
• Do not wash your hair or wash in 1^St or 2^n.d new year’s day, because that will wash away good fortune
• Don’t sweep to 1^St or 2^n.d new year’s day, because that will sweep away accumulated wealth/luck
• Do not cry or argue, as this will bring bad luck