Year of the Monkey rings in Lunar New Year
by Barbara Austen-Cheng
February may seem early for spring cleaning, but not when you are celebrating Chinese New Year, whose celebration began Jan. 22 and ends Feb. 7 and ushers in the Year of the Monkey.
Families begin the New Year by cleaning house - getting rid of the old to make room for the new. They prepare for visits from family and friends by decorating their homes with cherry blossoms.
As families gather to welcome Lunar Year 4702, they give each other oranges and tangerines (whose names sound similar to the Chinese word for gold) to wish each other prosperity.
Young, unmarried family members are enriched by more than symbolism, however, as older relatives give them red envelopes filled with "good luck" money. The number eight, whose Chinese name sounds similar to the Chinese work for luck, also plays an important role during the New Year celebration, along with the color red, which symbolizes good luck.
During Chinese New Year, the sound of firecrackers can be heard warding off evil spirits and lion dancers, accompanied by drums, gongs, firecrackers and cymbals, dance from business to business to bring good luck, good fortune and long life to the merchants. As well, the traditional New Year's salutation "Gung Hay Fat Choy" will be heard throughout the district.
The monkey, considered friendly, energetic and mischievous, will "rule" the coming year. According to Chinese tradition, the monkey can be a show-off, but he is a good provider, a charming companion and helps provide his friends long and happy lives. The upcoming year promises to be filled with momentous events and opportunities.
People born in the Year of the Monkey are considered to be skilled, talented and flexible, making them good decision makers who exercise common sense. People born in the Year of the Monkey can be passionate and strong natured and may even become famous if they pursue their own career.
On the negative side, those born in the Year of the Monkey can become distracted or confused and are prone to abandon a project at the first sign of adversity. They might also talk too much, look down upon others and drive people away.
The best marriages for those born during "monkey" years are people born in the year of the dragon or rat. They can also do well with spouses born in the years of the rabbit, sheep or dog. Monkey mates should avoid those born in the year of the snake, boar and, most of all, the tiger.
Early Chinese astronomers studied the cycles of the skies and based the culture's calendar on the lunar year, long before the Greeks invented the solar calendar which begins Jan. 1. Chinese soothsayers studied the behavior of animals in relation to people born in certain years and, upon those studies, the Chinese horoscope emerged.
Though the Year of the Monkey officially began Jan. 22, the most well-known festivities associated with Chinese New Year occur on the weekend of Feb. 6 - 8, including the Chinese Cultural Center's Spring Festival, the Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Coronation Ball at the St. Francis Hotel and the annual parade through Chinatown (now sponsored by Southwest Airlines), which starts at Market and Second streets.
Tradition demands that the parade finish with Gum Lung, the 201-foot-long Golden Dragon which dances along the parade route. It is carried by more than 100 people.
When the dragon - often representing the masculine in Chinese culture - emerges from its symbolic cave to join the parade, firecrackers are lit to scare away evil spirits. Along the route, the dragon chases the Pearl of Eternal Life, always unattainable, and bows to the four corners of the Earth, which represents the universe.