While we mourn the end of Blizzard 2011 and it’s accompanying snow days, over one billion people are celebrating a beginning.
Feb. 3, 2011 marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rabbit.
Dr. Maoshing Ni wrote about what we can expect from the Year of the Rabbit on Yahoo
The Year of the Rabbit officially begins on February 3rd, 2011 and the elemental energies are again metal and wood, similar to the Tiger year we’re leaving behind. Therefore, some of the unpredictability and conflicts of the Tiger year will carry over to the New Year; however, Rabbit years are usually calm, creative, and positive — a much-desired change from the volatile Tiger! Rabbit is a peace-seeking symbol, and we can expect that there will most likely be more effort at diplomacy politically. But don’t expect everything to go smoothly, because any accord is always underscored by discord.
The focus of this year will orient towards reviving the arts and culture, getting our financial house in order, cultivating intimate relationships, and building family and community. As a result, industries that will likely benefit include entertainment, finance, energy, especially alternative energy, commodities like metals and agricultural products, mining, shipping, transportation, and hotels. Industries that will continue to lag include forestry, textiles, media, newspapers, and magazines. Due to the still-weak economic conditions of the West, environmental protection may unfortunately take a backseat to economic priorities. Because of the inward focus on the Rabbit, domestic agendas at home will trump those outside of the border and the appetite for playing Big Brother internationally will assuredly wane.
So with that in mind, here are some ways you can celebrate.
Chinese New Year traditions:
- Repay all your debts
- Don’t use knives or scissors – You could cut your luck out
- Don’t wash your hair – You will wash the luck out
- Paint or wear something red – The Chinese consider red a lucky color
- Clean your house the day before – Don’t clean or sweep anything the day of, or you will sweep your luck away
- Don’t use foul language or talk about death or dying
- Shoot off firecrackers to scare away evil
- Open your windows to let luck in… or maybe not given the current temperatures
- Look forward to the Lantern Festival at the end of New Year celebrations Feb. 17
