Lunar New Year 2022
New moon, New year!
The lunar calendar is based on the moon's orbit around the earth.
The tiger is commonly associated with bravery, courage, and strength - a sign of new beginnings.
"This nicely coincided with hopeful recovery from the pandemic. This actually is quite significant in terms of the symbol," said Eddy Keming Chen, philosophy professor in Chinese Studies at UC San Diego.
Another basis of the zodiac are the elements, and this year is a water tiger, the first since 1962.
People born in the year of the water tiger are said to be loyal and have strong relationships.
In Mandarin, the New Year is referred to as Guo Nian, or to "pass over Nian."
In Chinese mythology, the Nian is a beast that lives in the sea or in the mountains. Every new year it would come out to feed on men and animals, sometimes even children. Some legends attribute the lion dance as a means of driving away the Nian. The villagers would bang drums and plates, throw firecrackers, and wear red robes to scare the monster away.
After Nian was captured, by the Taoist monk Hongjun Laozu, the villagers celebrated and the ritual for banishing him was repeated the next year, and so on and so on.
Comments
Post a Comment