Iyow - in your own words

The Chinese New Year, the Year of the Purple Boar began on Sunday, February 18, 2007. What’s special about the year of the Purple Boar? It closes the 12-year cycle in the Chinese calendar, making it a time for reaping benefits from past efforts. It should also be a time of peace. We’re two months in, but here’s a little background on what you can expect for the next ten months….
(Image linked from http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca.)

“Gung Hai Fat Choi!”
The traditional new year greeting literally means “congratulations on prospering in money.” But it generally is used more like “trick or treat” on Halloween—except that kids who say “Gung Hai Fat Choi” may be hitting you up for lai see (cash in red envelopes).

What can you expect from a pig year?
The Year of the Boar is a time of fun and some licentiousness. Pleasure and enjoyment of the good life will be valued more than power and status. Pig years are a time to be close to the people you care about. Most people splurge a bit on extravagances this year and then scale back in the rat year.

The Chinese believe that the Boar year brings good fortune for intellectuals, financiers, and best of all for… women. While this is a time to enjoy, some cautions I feel duty bound to pass on—make sure your pleasures don’t yield pains to you or those you care about.

Why Does the Chinese Zodiac Feature Twelve Animals?
We are entering the year 4705 on the lunar calendar — the Year of the Pig. The lunar calendar is a twelve-year cycle and each year is represented by a different animal. There are competing explanations for why the twelve animals are used.

One explanation is that Buddha called to all the animals of the world promising to name a year after each animal that volunteered, and, only twelve did. The years were distributed based on who showed up first and each year was given some of the characteristics of each animal.

Another explanation says that the Emperor of the gods created the Chinese Zodiac so that the world could benefit from the wisdom and strength of the best animals in the world. This challenge led to a huge argument between twelve animals about who was the best. The Emperor didn’t want to choose one and alienate the rest, so the Emperor held a race to decide who would get to be in the Chinese Zodiac Calendar. This looked a lot like the starting line for a marathon — places in the calendar were to be doled out according to the animals’ finish times — but they were swimming across a river. (This story reminds me of the turtle and the hare or the Golden Book about the Gingerbread Man and the red fox.)

Anyway… all the animals lined up on the riverbank. The flag went down and they all jumped in. But the rat, always thinking, caught a ride on the ox’s back. The ox swam sure and fast and was sure of victory when, lo and behold!… the rat scurried down the ox’s snout, onto the bank and claimed first place. The pig (or boar) ended up last. Enough explaining — the order of the animals is: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep/ram, monkey, rooster, dog, and the pig boar.

Those born in the Year of the Pig — 2007, 1995, 1983, 1971, 1959, 1947, 1935, or 1923 — are some of the best people you could ever meet. They are considered the most honest, innocent, and naive members of the Chinese zodiac. They are compassionate and they make the best of all possible friends: My sister, a.k.a. Miss Piggy (I can only call her that when I’m a few thousand miles away), bears this one out.

What should you wear and what should you eat?
Wear new red clothes; decorate yourself and your house with red and pink; and eat oranges (pomelos and tangerines). Don’t cook or clean (the kitchen god is on vacation).

Traditionally, the hostess (with the mostest) would bring out her tray of eight “immortals,” or eight sweets, each intended to bring a particular kind of good fortune to the eater. Watermelon seeds for wealth; coconut candy for family harmony; candied melon for health and vitality; ginger for mental agility and intelligence; cookies for cookie monsters (supposed to sweeten up the grumps); oranges for gold; and red sweets for good luck.
A special New Year’s Cake called “Go”, which means “high” in Cantonese (we can only hope it lives up to its name), is served as well as a vegetarian dish called “Jai” or Monk’s Stew. People eat a vegetarian meal because a new year should start out with internal purity. Incense and candles are lit as a nod to the ancestors. Branches from evergreens are kept in the house, for longevity, and oranges are stacked in a pyramid to bring prosperity in the new year.

Historically, lion dancers, led by a drummer, come to homes and businesses that put out heads of lettuce hanging from a long rope to entice the lion to their houses (I actually saw this one year in San Francisco). The lion dances around, eats the lettuce, spits it out, and “eats” a red envelope (usually filled with money). The money is a token of appreciation because the lion has scared away evil spirits and brought good luck to their home. Firecrackers end the day with a bang (and hopefully no whimpers).

While I’m accustomed to going to the parade on the day of the new year, some people keep celebrating till the 15th day of the New Year, and end with a lantern and dragon parade. Lanterns act as guides to locating heavenly spirits flying around the full moon. The Lantern Festival was supposed to bear witness to the coming spring and brighter days. A long dragon, a mythical creature symbolic of vigor and fertility, is manned by as many as 200 men who manipulate its body—dancing and prancing in order to scare away evil spirits. The Chinese New Year celebration usually lasts for three weeks.

Who is the Purple Pig?
The pig is also represented on a tree (a leaning mulberry, I think) and is the “Hai” branch, one of the Twelve Terrestrial Branches. This branch brings generosity and good will and is generally, simple and honest, strong and generous. The pig is considered the happiest animal of the Chinese zodiac.

These are passionate people with big appetites. Heh heh. But don’t just believe me. According to the Chinese Buddhist novel Xi You Ji (Journey to the West), the lovable Boar character Zhu Bajie represents extreme sensual appetites. The ancient Taittiriya Samhita and Satapatha Brahmana of India tell how the creator Prajapati became a boar and spread his seed out across the earth, who became Vedic goddess Prthivi, or the “extended one,” and gave birth to many gods. The cosmic Great Horned Boar is the second avatar of Vishnu and in this form saved Prthivi (“Earth”) from the demon Hiranyaksa by raising her from the chaotic primeval waters with his phallic tusk. The pig also is depicted on the Buddhists’ Sacred Wheel of the Law in the inside center, as one of the “Three Poisons,” the animal manifestation of the quality of ignorance.

Some occupations recommended for the Pig include film-maker and public entertainers, from comedians to rock stars. Since he is sensitive, he also will do equally well in the arts as a writer, poet or painter. Because of the pig’s good luck and work ethic, success at almost any profession is assured.

Some important people born in the Year of the Pig are John Quincy Adams, Paul Cézanne, Lucille Ball, Vladimir Nabokov, Arnold Schwarznegger, Ernest Hemingway, Al Capone, Garcia Lorca, Noël Coward, Chiang Kai-shek, Carlos Santana, King Henry VIII, Maria Callas, Henry Kissinger, Boris Karloff, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Alfred Hitchcock, Fred Astaire, John D. Rockefeller, Julie Andrews, Samuel F. Morse, Woody Allen, Marcel Marceau, Luciano Pavarotti, Hillary Rodham Clinton and my sister.

Most of the information abo e was gathered from one of my favorite websites, Holy Mountain Trading Company. They sell teapots and keep lots of great photos from trips they’ve taken as well as info about horoscopes.