Chinese New Year

2025 is the year of the Snake in the Chinese lunar calendar, ending MY year of the Dragon (since I was born in 1940).  Yesterday, we had a party, with Chinese residents singing for us.  They served Chinese delicacies, which were delicious.

When my Chinese neighbor arrived, she tapped me on the arm and offered me a package of sweet potato sticks.

Later, I texted her these Chinese words meaning "thank you."  They sound to me something like "schay-schay."

Chinese New Year and a new book

The Chinese Lunar New Year begins today, marking the end of the Year of the Tiger, and the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit.

Since I was born in the Year of the Dragon, I always look to see what's up for us dragons:

"Help those in need always, 

and watch abundance as well

as generosity flow your way."

The twelve zodiac animals are the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.  Do you know your zodiac sign?

What have you read lately that you enjoyed?

I have just finished two cozies.  The second was awful, so I won't finish the series.

A Vow of Silence ~ by Veronica Black, 1990, cozy mystery, 175 pages, 8/10

The Daughters of Compassion share a chilling secret they cannot confess:  Sister Sophia is dead.  Another nun is missing.  And a mysterious last letter from a dying nun is sent to the prioress.  What’s going on with them?  It’s up to newcomer Sister Joan to uncover the truth.  Having faced her own demons, can she save the other sisters from theirs?

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

Year of the Tiger

It's time to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Tiger.  Thanks to Nancy the Bookfool for posting this picture on Facebook.

Jane and Donna and I went out to eat Chinese to celebrate the Chinese New Year in 2012, which happened to be the Year of the Dragon.  We all wore red that day, and I slid out of my seat to snap this photo of them eating at our favorite Chinese restaurant in Chattanooga.  I'm using this photo of them because they were both born in the Year of the Tiger, though two cycles apart.  Unfortunately, Jane died at the end of December 2013, a few months before I moved to St. Louis, and Donna died in July 2021.  With Covid out there, we probably could not or would not have done it again.  But I love this photo.  Anyway, happy new year!

Chinese New Year ~ Goat

Today is the Chinese New Year, a time to celebrate the Year of the Goat.  The animals of the Chinese zodiac are the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Goat, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog, and the Pig.  Click the link to find your zodiac sign on the left and read about your personality and best career.

I was born in 1940, the Year of the Dragon.  In 2012, I ate out with Jane and Donna to celebrated the Year of the Dragon.  They were both born in the Year of the Tiger, though two cycles apart.  Which is your animal sign, according to the Chinese?

Chinese New Year, continued

After Jane and Donna and I ate Chinese food for the new year, Jane and I went to last night's meeting of the Joseph Campbell Roundtable (Donna had another meeting).  We all three wore Chinese red.

For the arrival of the year of the Water Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, Chris Campbell gave a presentation on the I Ching, or Book of Changes and The Secret of the Golden Flower: A Chinese Book of Life, two Chinese classics.  He recommends the ones by Richard Wilhelm.

Chris was explaining the I Ching on the flipchart.  I Ching means "book of changes."  On the wall to the right is his "cursive" drawing of the Year of the Dragon, where we can almost see the dragon flying through the air.  Double click on the photo to enlarge it, so you can see the dragon's head where the line starts — in other words, starting at the darkest end of that ribbon of black ink.

Here's how he drew the golden flower.  See the eight petals?  And then he added the trigrams, which have shifted from the basic chart above.  (I can't explain it, since I'm just learning about all this.)

Chris also previewed a recently released Joseph Campbell film, Finding Joe, which he received permission to show.  So we were among the first in town to see (part of) this film.  Click on the blue link to see an even shorter bit than I saw last night.

Happy Year of the Dragon!  Yesterday, I meant to show you this wonderful children's book that I reviewed a couple of years ago.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin is a 2009 children's book, which I rated 9 of 10.  Click on the blue link to read my review.  Do you see the dragon on the cover?  The dragon is flying through the air.  Yes!

Added a bit later:  Ha!  I've learned that Chattanooga, my town, has a Dragon Museum that's all about dragons.

Chinese New Year ~ Dragon

The Chinese Year of the Dragon began at midnight.  It's my year, folks!  I was born in the Year of the Dragon.  It's one of twelve signs, which means it comes around every twelve years.  Having been born in 1940, this is my sixth new dragon year since I was born.  In April, I'll be 72.  Here one of my favorite dragon photos:

The first day of the Chinese New Year – which began at midnight on January 23, 2012 – is the most important of Chinese holidays.  This evening, two friends and I are going to eat Chinese.  I'll be wearing red, the lucky color.  Here's one more dragon photo.  I love these lights!