Articles In This Issue Page 1: Pat Farrell Page 7: The Way I See It Featuring: Cathey Meyer
Page 12: NARPM Featuring: Brenda Davila
Page 13: Resturant Special Page 15: In The Know
S ERVING S OUTH T EXAS AND S URROUNDING A REAS F OR O VER 37 Y EARS Vol.XXXIX, No.2
Featuring: Jose D’Craw
Pages 22 - 23 : Newsflash
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 2021
Does Your Birth Year Match That Of Your Chinese New Year? By: Pat Farrell
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID San Antonio, Texas Permit #1416
According to an old legend, the Chinese calendar came into being when Buddha called all animals to join him for a great celebration, however, only 12 animals responded. To honor those that came Buddha dedicated one year of the Chinese calendar to each animal in the order they arrived: the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Sheep, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog and the Pig, thus unlike western calendars which are based on months, the Chinese calendars focus on years. It is thought that all people born during the same year are likely to have similar main character traits and should use both the good and the bad of those traits intelligently to best benefit themselves and those around them. The Chinese New Year is based on a lunar year rather than a fixed date and this year the new moon will occur on Friday, February 12th. The preparations for the holidays start one month prior when people will buy presents, materials for decorations, food and clothes. Also, they start the house cleaning to chase away bad luck, and repaint the doors and windows, usually in red. Preparations for the actual
holiday begin on February 4th and carry on through New Year ’s Eve when the celebrations will begin, and will then officially end on February 22nd, to be followed immediately by the official Lantern Festival which is celebrated on February 26th. The family celebration on New Year ’s Eve, comprised of a family dinner dedicated to the spirits of the ancestors together with the living family members, is an important religious ritual as loved ones and dearly departed are remembered with the greatest respect, for they are considered responsible for the present and future good family fortune. Each day of the New Year Celebration has a specific purpose and requirements: Day one, meat is avoided to promote longevity and the gods of heaven and earth are welcomed; Day 2, prayers are sent to the gods and ancestors; Days three and four, sons-in-law pay respect to their bride's parents; Day five is spent home to welcome the god of wealth; by Day six, the Chinese are now free go out to visit friends and relatives and go to temples for prayer; Day seven, the birthday of all humans is celebrated with a drink made by the farmers from seven types of vegetables, raw fish is eaten to promote success, and noodles are eaten for longevity; Day eight, prayers are sent to the god of heaven; Day nine, offerings are made to the jade emperor; Days 10-12, friends and relatives are invited to visit for dinner; Day 13, simple foods are eaten to recover from all the rich foods previously enjoyed, and finally, Day 14, preparations for the Lantern Festival begin. Whew! The traditional meal on New Year ’s Day is known as ‘Jai Traditional Vegetarian Dish’ consisting of root vegetables and foods that represent good fortune to include lotus seed (hope for many male offspring), dried bean curd (happiness and wealth), ginko nut (which represents silver), bamboo shoots (good wishes for all) and
black moss seaweed (hope for wealth), and, since white is an unlucky color for New Year, white foods like tofu are avoided. A tea ritual, when each family member drinks a cup of tea, starts on the first morning of the Chinese Metal Ox Year. Other drinks which might be enjoyed that day are the Emperor ’s first drink (Tusu wine), Putaojiu wine or Baijiu, an alcoholic blend distilled from wine and various other ingredients. There are five elements of Chinese Astrology and the five planets by which they are represented are: Water (Venus), Wood (Jupiter), Fire (Mercury), Earth (Mars) and Metal (Saturn) each of which also has a yin (female) and yang (male) side, and the elements are supposed to conquer one another, i.e, wood conquers earth, earth conquers water, water conquers fire, fire conquers metal and metal conquers wood. Each animal will, at some point on the calendar, be paired with one of the elements and for 2021 it is the year of the Metal Ox, which follows the 2020 year of the Metal Rat and will itself be followed in 2022 by the Water Tiger. You may also hear 2021 referred to as the year of the Golden Ox (gold is a metal) or the White Ox (color of metal). Those born in a year of the Ox (1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021) are thought to be very active and popular, especially among the opposite sex but have difficulty saving money. They are low key, honest and earnest and do not seek attention but gain recognition through hard work. They are kind, logical, make good leaders and believe in doing what is asked of them. Men feel a great family responsibility and because of their own confidence may hold their children to high standards. Women are calm and gentle and stay the path, rarely considering taking the alternative option though they think and react quickly. Both the men and the women are not very compatible with those born in the years of the
Goat, Horse or Dog but are considered to be compatible with those born in the years of the Rat, Snake and Rooster. During the Spring Festival which includes the New Year period, there are a number of things the Chinese try to avoid that include: using sharp objects or breaking any glass or ceramic items, fighting or crying, taking medicine or demanding debt payments. Cleaning or sweeping or throwing out garbage before the fifth day or taking a shower on New Year ’s Day are nonos, along with gifting a clock which is the equivalent of paying one’s last respects. It has been customary, during this time for celebrating change and new beginnings, that one show off their new clothes which follow the current trend so when one is buying clothes it would be good to remember to avoid the colors black or white, but you can always be in style with red. And it is most important that that one visit the eldest seniors from the husband’s side first and be sure to bring gifts. In return the elders will give the younger generation red envelopes containing “money to anchor the year” (yā sui qián). The Lantern Festival, which can be traced back 2,000 years, takes place on February 26th this year and concludes the Chinese holiday but during the Festival people will get together on the night of the Festival to celebrate with different activities. Since China is such a vast country with diverse cultures, activities will vary regionally but could include lighting and enjoying floating, fixed, held and flying lanterns, enjoying the full moon, setting off fireworks, flying drones, participating in lion and/or dragon dances and walking on stilts. But all good things must come to an end, (at least until next year), so I wish for those who celebrate the Chinese New Year, “xin nian kuai le” (Happy New Year) or “gong xi fa cai” (“congratulations on the fortune.”)!