
happy chinese new year!! chuc mung nam moi (in vietnamese) gong xi fa chai (in chinese) today is the lunar new year for the chinese, korean and vietnamese. this year is the year of the rat which is also known as the former wu zi.
There is a ancient story that describes how the animals were assigned to the cycle of years. Long time ago, the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals together to assign each of them a year. When the cat heard the news, he let his friend, the Rat know about it and the two animals decided to go together the next day. However, the next day, the Rat did not wake up the cat who being a cat and loving to nap, slept through the morning. Therefore, the cat did not make it to the assembly on time and did not get a year. This is why there is no year of the cat and this is also why cats hate Rats.
The Rat, on the other hand, made it first there and received the first year. He did not achieve this without trickery either. He knew that a small animal like him would not be able to compete with the others, so he begged the ox to let him ride on its head. The ox consented and they went together.
Just when they were about to arrive, the rat jumped off the ox’s head and got through the finish line first. This is why the year of the Rat is the first year in the cycle and the year of the ox is the second.
The Chinese New Year celebrations are marked by visits to relatives and friends, known as "new-year visits" New clothings are usually worn to signify a new year. The colour red is liberally used in all decorations. Red packets are given to juniors and children by the married and elders.
Before the chinese new year celebrations occur thorough cleaning throughout the house. It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the previous year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Purchasing new clothing, shoes and receiving a hair-cut also symbolize a fresh start (though, it may be considered bad luck among some.)
The Rat People being the first sign of the Chinese zodiac, are leaders, pioneers and conquerors. The Rat symbolizes such character traits as wit, imagination and curiosity. Rats have keen observation skills and with those skills, they are able to deduce much about other people and other situations. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hard working. Rat people endowed with great wisdom.
chinese new year festival will be held at warwick farm racecourse. there are many stalls to choose from including food, games music just to name a few. celebrations will start on friday and finish on sunday with fireworks.
Hong Tran