Lunar New Year, the Year of the Ox, begins
Lunar New Year – also known as the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival – begins Friday, ushering in the second animal on the Zodiac with the second new moon after the winter solstice. This year, we'll say goodbye to the Year of the Rat and hello to the Year of the Ox.
Though the occasion is meant to be celebrated with family and friends, the coronavirus pandemic means that the festival will look different this year for the 1.5 billion people who observe it. The Lunar New Year typically falls between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20. Next year, the celebration will begin Tuesday, Feb. 1.
Missing Haircuts this Lunar New Year:
On Lunar New Year, I always wake up feeling hopeful, instead of cotton-mouthed and hung over as I do on Jan. 1. I’ve joked that the holiday — which floats on the calendar between late January to mid-February — is a chance for a do-over. Was Dry January too hard to bear? Your hand weights already gathering dust under the bed? It’s a reminder that I can begin again, at a time when I feel behind on everything.
Missing haircuts lunar new year
In truth, I don’t miss the haircut. I miss the bustle of preparations as I shop for crisp red envelopes, into which I stuff lucky money. I empty the trash and sweep the floor, getting rid of the bad luck, which 2020 provided in terrible abundance.
Out with the old, in with the new, has never felt more urgent. Consider the legend behind the Asian zodiac, which determines the order of the animal signs in a 12-year cycle.
Eons ago, the Jade Emperor held a great race to heaven. The rat and the cat persuaded the ox to give them a ride across the river. Perched on the ox’s back, they promised to watch for their rivals sneaking up from behind: the tiger struggling against the current, the rabbit hopping from boulder to boulder, the dog stopping to splash and the pig snacking, then napping in the shade.
Within sight of shore, the rat shoved the cat into the water. Then it jumped over the finish line and ahead of the ox, which lost by less than a whisker length.
The sneaky rat is gone and the hardworking and honest ox now reigns.
Though I’m usually not so superstitious, I’ve been thinking about how such beliefs originate out of a desire to protect ourselves from danger. When sheltering in place began, people sanitized their groceries, doorknobs and mobile phones with a ritual intensity. It turns out transmission from surfaces is exceedingly low; hand washing, social distancing and face masks remain paramount.
Deep into the pandemic, we’re still adapting to survive. Rites old and new sustain us.
On Twitter, a friend asked how to prepare a meal for a handful instead of a crowd. Suggestions included cooking a whole fish, ordering Lunar New Year-themed cookies, and macarons from Instagram pop-ups, or getting takeout from struggling Chinatown restaurants whose holiday banquet season business has disappeared. In a Facebook group, Bay Area foodies fielded questions from those hoping to score festive favorites such as poon choi, a Cantonese dish heaped with braised meats, prawns, dried scallops and more, as well as bánh tét, a Vietnamese log of glutinous rice stuffed with pork belly and mung beans.
Chinese TV's Lunar New Year gala features African performers
Chinese state TV included dancers in portraying Africans during a national broadcast as Asia welcomed the lunar Year of the Ox Friday with subdued festivities amid travel curbs to contain renewed coronavirus outbreaks.
The "African Song and Dance" performance came at the start of the Spring Festival Gala, or "Chunwan," one of the world's most-watched TV programs. It included Chinese dancers in African-style costumes and dark face makeup beating drums.
The five-hour annual program, which state TV has said in the past is viewed by as many as 800 million people, also included tributes to nurses, doctors and others who fought the coronavirus pandemic that began in central China in late 2019.
China's ruling Communist Party tries to promote an image of unity with African nations as fellow developing economies. But state broadcaster China Central Television has faced criticism over using African people in previous New Year broadcasts.
On Twitter, Livity China, a group for people of African descent who work in or with China, called the broadcast "extremely disappointing." It noted CCTV's 2018 Spring Festival Gala, which featured performers in face with a monkey.
"We cannot stress enough the impact scenes such as these have on African and Afro-diasporic communities living in China," the group said.
Festivities for the holiday, normally East Asia's busiest tourism season, are muted after China, Vietnam, Taiwan and other governments tightened travel curbs and urged the public to avoid big gatherings following renewed virus outbreaks.
Elsewhere in China, Buddhist and Daoist temples that are usually packed with holiday worshippers were closed. Streets in major cities were largely empty.
Visitors gathered outside the locked gates of the Lama Temple on Beijing's north side to burn incense and pray.
Ji Jianping, who wore a jacket and red face mask, the traditional color of good fortune, said she and her family skipped visiting their hometown in the northern province of Shanxi due to the pandemic.
"I wish for safety and health, as well as happiness for my family," said Ji, 62.
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China's appeal to the public to avoid travel is denting spending on tourism and gifts. But economists say the overall impact might be limited if factories and shops keep operating instead of taking their usual two-week break.
The Commerce Ministry said it found 48 million more people in Chinese cities planned to celebrate where they live instead of traveling. Departures from Beijing's two major airports were also down 75 percent from last year on Wednesday, the Chinese capital's government said.
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