Happy and Prosperous Chinese Spring Festival 2020, Chinese New Year

 

Chinese New Year 2020 falls on Saturday, January 25, 2020, beginning a year of the Rat. The Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival, is the longest annual holiday. It starts on the first of the Lunar Calendar and lasts until the 15th day.

The Spring Festival marks a new year on the lunar calendar and represents the desire for a new life.

The Rat is associated with the Metal Element... Meticulous. In terms of yin and yang (阴阳—yīn yáng), the Rat is Yang (Divine Masculine), and it represents Renewal, the beginning of a new day. The Yang Metal Rat influences the 12 Chinese Zodiac Signs in 2020.  The Metal Element Color is White, it is of value to focus on cultivating Integrity, Achieving Academic Excellence and on being an Instrument of Peace. 

The Yang Metal element in Traditional Chinese Energy Medicine symbolizes autumn, that is, harvest time.  The Metal Element governs the Year of The Rat 2020, and the basis are in structure, in order, in self discipline and in precision.

The Yang Metal Rat 2020 is the year of renewed ambitions and strategies, where one turn one's back to the past, accepts the lessons that have been learned and keep the experiences that are for good, to have evolved ourselves spiritually speaking. 

What is the purpose of life and what is then the Spiritual meaning of a New Year? The purpose of life is to love, to learn how to love the self, and to love the self it is first necessary to know the self. Love is too about self appreciation and how can we appreciate something that we don't know, then it is necessary to invest this life to know the self, to know and to cultivate, appreciate who we are.  The Spiritual meaning of a New Year is always about embracing the energy of new beginnings, under the umbrella of a Constructive Cycle. It is a choice to want to focus on where we are going and to let go of what doesn't serve us well any more.  But more over, this new year of 2020, The Yang Metal Rat energy or spiritual essence is inviting us to focus on inner harmony, inner balance, self reflection and silence to create this space so needed within to be able to listen, to listen to our unique voice within.  

May time for Meditation, for self reflection, for study of the self be too a New Year goal. And, most of all, this year the dominant color present throughout the year is the color White for Metal... so let's focus on making and nurturing peace and peaceful ways, and for this, for peace to exist we first have to disarm our minds and our hearts. 

The Metal Rat is Passionate about everything it undertakes, it loves freedom and this is a good environment to power our Imagination. But, are the basis of the thoughts that we choose to think of importance to craft worlds into being?  Yes, so it is important to learn how to choose and cultivate our Roots, to grow Branches toward the outcomes that we aim at; like Rats who are associated with the energy of Prosperity, Optimism, Creativity, Meticulous and of a Financial Stability.  

China is a nation of colorful languages. There are many variations to even the most simple Chinese New Year greetings. You have probably heard of xīn nián kuài lè (新年快乐) or Happy New Year, but it is said differently in other Chinese regions.

China is home to over ten dialects including the Beijing dialect, Cantonese, and Shanghainese.  Cantonese is also one of the most widely used dialects in China apart from Mandarin.

“Happy Spring Festival” in Mandarin, say chūn jiē kuài lè.

Calligraphy is another popular form of Art in China.

Characters representing blessings are written on square pieces of red paper and pasted on walls, doors, or windows. The most common character used as Chinese New Year decoration is fu (福) as it represents fortune.

The Kongming Lantern (孔明灯) is especially significant during the festival. People write down their wishes on these lanterns before releasing them to the heavens in hopes of getting their wishes granted.

Tale of the 12 Zodiac Animals

The story of the 12 zodiac animals is one of the most well-known Chinese New Year myths. The order of the twelve zodiac animals was determined by a race arranged by the Jade Emperor

According to one folktale, the Jade Emperor decided that the order of the animals would be determined according to the order by which they arrived at his party. This zodiac animal cleverly convinced the Ox to give him a ride. Just as the pair arrived at the door, the Rat jumped ahead and landed before the Ox.


The tiger and the rabbit then followed soon after. Instead of potentially finishing ahead of the pack, the dragon was delayed because it deviated from the race to save an entire village from a flood. The snake arrived at the same time as the dragon but was too small to be noticed immediately. The dog, the monkey, and the rooster finished together after they helped a god in another country. Finishing close to each other was the horse and the goat. The horse was just a tad bit faster than the goat. After its home was destroyed by a wolf, the pig had to rebuild its house before entering the race and, eventually, finishing last.

Spring Festival Food

Chinese people give a lot of merit and importance to 'seeds', and this is to me a significant and a meaningful spiritual metaphor. Seeds signify one's potential as a miraculous human being for great things. In Traditional Chinese Energy Medicine seeds are use for their invaluable 'energetic potential' to influence biomarkers of health and well being in our physical body. 

Chinese people love their baked seeds as one of the most popular snacks to celebrate the Spring Festival or to welcome a New Year, a new and better beginning... for the self and for everyone. 

 Cultivate Balance, 

Cultivate Prosperity Consciousness,

 Treasure Your Family, Nurture Others, Be Happy...

Once an Elder 92 years old said to me this; "It is foolish not to be happy."  So, I am inviting everyone to focus on the perusing of inner happiness and of happiness as a way of life. Let's focus on that which we wish to create and on that which we want more of...

Note: The Unlucky Things to Do at Chinese New Year

Sweeping up on New Year's Day: don't "sweep all your luck away".  😉

Love and Light!

Happy New and Better Beginnings... IN Love

Katherine 

 - Twitter: @DearestSource