Under the traditional lunar calendar, each new year is associated with an animal, one of the rotating series of animals in the Chinese zodiac--this year is the Year of the Horse. The horse is an animal that traditionally has had a certain resonance with the Chinese. Admired for its beauty, speed, and strength, the horse often appears in traditional Chinese art.
This will be the first time in seven years that I won't be experiencing this most famous (and most popular) of Chinese holidays in China itself. As some readers of this blog may know, my familyand I returned last summer fr0m China, where I spent seven years teaching English at a university in Beijing. I'll be missing out of all the excitement of the holiday, especially the incredible display of fireworks that occurs during the night before the holiday, leading up to its climax at midnight. Admittedly, at the time I didn't totally appreciate the noise, but now I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for it.
I've made some effort to mark the holiday here in the U.S. by decorating our house with decorations for Chunjie that I brought back from China, but the feeling isn't quite the same. In a sense, I'm experiencing a reversal of my feelings about Christmas and Chinese New Year while living in China. When we lived in China, I did my best to celebrate Christmas--putting up a Christmas tree, buying Christmas gifts for my daughter, reading the Christmas story in the Bible, sometimes attending a Christmas Eve service--but somehow the feeling wasn't quite the same as I had while living in the U.S. There is some acknowledgement of Christmas in China (for example, many stores and shopping malls will put up Christmas decorations), but except for Chinese Christians, I suspect most Chinese still find it somewhat alien. On the other hand, when I lived in China, Chunjie felt like a big deal because it was the most important holiday of all, having the emotional resonance that Christmas has for many Americans (and other Westerners)--a time to be with family and to celebrate the good things in life.
Nevertheless, Chinese New Year remains one of my fondest memories of my time in China. Perhaps someday I'll have the opportunity to experience it there again. In the meanwhile, I would like to wish my readers Xin Nian Kuai Le ("Happy New Year") in this Year of the Horse.
Image of horse from home-school-coach.com