Stephanie's Calendar
Brooke's Calendar
YEAR OF THE RAM
CHINESE NEW YEAR: The Spring festival celebrates the earth coming back to life, and the start of ploughing and sowing. In the past, feudal rulers of dynasties placed great importance on this occasion, and ceremonies to usher in the season were performed. Preparations for the New Year festival start during the last few days of the last moon. Houses are thoroughly cleaned, debts repaid, hair cut and new clothes bought. Doors are decorated with vertical scrolls of characters on red paper whose texts seek good luck and praise nature, this practice stemming from the hanging of peach-wood charms to keep away ghosts and evil spirits. In many homes incense is burned, and also in the temples as a mark of respect to ancestors. On New Year’s Eve houses are brightly lit and a large family dinner is served. In the south of China sticky-sweet glutinous rice pudding called
'nian gao' is served, while in the north the steamed dumpling jiaozi is popular. Most celebrating the festival stay up till midnight, when fireworks are lit, to drive away evil spirits. New Years day is often spent visiting neighbours, family and friends. The public holiday for New Year lasts 3 days in China, but the festival traditionally lasts till the 15th day of the lunar month and ends with the ‘Lantern Festival’. Here, houses are decorated with colourful lanterns, and yuanxioa, a sweet or savoury fried or boiled dumpling made of glutinous rice flour is eaten.
The oldest and most important festival in China is the Spring Festival, more commonly known in the West as Chinese New Year. Like all Chinese festivals, the date of the new year is determined by the
lunar/solar calendar rather than the Western (Gregorian) calendar, so the date of the holiday varies from late January to mid February.
THE
YEAR OF THE RAM: The Ram is the most mild mannered of all of the Chinese zodiac animals, and can be prone to a little nervousness. The ram is an animal that avoids confrontation whenever possible, and a quiet life is always preferred to any other kind. After the exhausting pace of
the Year of the Horse, 2003
slows down, giving us more time
to focus on domestic matters and
personal relationships. The
Ram's influence will draw us
closer to our home and families
as we turn towards family
responsibilities, especially
regarding the elderly. With things progressing
slower, this is a good time to
relax and make peace with
ourselves as well as with
others. With the Ram's love of
harmony, reconciliation and
peacemaking, both politically
and personally, are the order of
the day. This is the year for
reconciliation, diplomatic
moves, and the healing of rifts.
Wars, international conflicts,
and mutual animosities usually
end in the year of the Ram.
Ram in a Flock of Ewes
2003 is the year of the "ram in a flock of ewes". The notion of a ram in the middle of a flock of ewes, may appear to some to be a position of good fortune. However, much as this may have some benefit, it also means that this year is a year in which it is easy to be seen, and therefore behaviour must be appropriate if you are not to be noticed for the wrong reasons. It will certainly be a year when inappropriate behaviour will be far more noticeable, and open to challenge.
Click here for the Chinatown Online page with predictions for all signs for the Year of the Ram and other activities.
