Celebrate the Chinese New Year

by Kimlai Yingling

Tomorrow is the start of the Chinese New Year and its time to say goodbye to 
the year of the dragon and hello to the year of the snake.

Chinese New Year is extra special to me. To be multicultural and have an
understanding of a different culture is enriching. It allows me to be in touch with
myself and my heritage that I feel such a strong connection to. I love all the
celebrations, the meaning behind it, the dancing, the laughter, all the people
coming together not to mention the food and pastries that you can ONLY get during
this time of year. Believe me my freezer gets really really full!

The Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar and is a celebration of the
New Year. While it can last up to a month it traditionally lasts 15 days.

To understand more about the 15-day Chinese New Year festival let me explain some
Chinese culture background. Thousands of years ago, China was mainly an
agriculture society. Each year, the dynasty government announced annual calendar
for farmers. The calendar contained the solar, lunar and weather information for
people to know when to seed, plant and harvest on their land and even when to
work, rest, pray and celebrate for their activities. Farmers knew they could count on
the sky for their living. The sky is connected to heaven and heaven is related to
religion. The major activity of the religion is to pray to gods for good luck, wealth,
health, wisdom, career, longevity, peace, and happiness at temple or home.

The traditions that go on during the Chinese holiday include forgiving past conflicts,
hosting elaborate feasts, setting off fireworks and giving children money in red
envelopes. The Year of the Dragon is believed to bring success and happiness. The
final day a lantern festival takes place in which red lanterns are hung outside houses.
Some other traditions that are important to do during the New Year is to clean your
home and sweep away bad luck. Decorate your house with the color red because
red means good luck. Take this time to visit friends & relatives and do not argue with
people. This is a time of peace and a time to show appreciation.

I’m sure many of you have been to a Chinese restaurant and have seen the little
paper placemats with animals around them. As I mentioned above 2013 is the year
of the Snake. Find your year below and see what your animal represents for you.

Rat (1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008) — Charming, well-organized,
creative, ambitious

Ox (1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009) — Patient, loyal, determined, eas

Tiger (1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010) — Brave, warm, sincere, daring

Rabbit (1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011) — Selfless, neat, humble, quiet

Dragon (1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012) — Imaginative, strong, fun,
energetic

Snake (1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001) — Mysterious, quiet, deep thinker

Horse (1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002) — Competitive, cheerful, talented,
hard worker

Sheep (1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003) — Affectionate, trusting, artistic

Monkey (1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004) — Humorous, inventive, smart

Rooster (1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005) — Determined, proud, confident.

Dog (1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006) — Loyal, trustworthy, likeable,
sympathetic

Pig (1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007) — Industrious, hardworking, goodnatured

There are tons of local Chinese New Year Festivities.
Be sure to see what's going on in your area!

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LOVE FEST 2013! TUESDAY FEBRUARY 12TH 8PM

Kimlai Yingling

Kimlai is the creator of EatinAsian.com and RoKi Productions. EatinAsian has fierce recipes, restaurant reviews, quirky "how to" videos & insight into a culture that is often misunderstood. Before EatinAsian Kimlai wrote, produced and hosted weekly video webcasts based on entrepreneurial topics for Entrepreneur Magazine and PerfectBusiness.com targeting the x and y generations. She also co-wrote and hosted two video training courses; How to write an effective business plan and How to use PR to promote your business. Her passion is cooking. "My mom and I have been cooking in the kitchen together for years. I’ve always had an interest in the cuisine and culture of Vietnam but it became a full-fledged obsession when my mom felt it was a good idea for me to learn how to create her food in the event that, if she were not around, I would know how to make her healthy & yummy cuisine. Otherwise I would never eat Vietnamese food again, except for rice paper (rice paper is to Asians what a tortilla is to Latinos) unless I went to a restaurant. Cooking your own food is all about being self sufficient and everyone knows no ones cooking is better than mom’s home cooking, no matter what nationality you are. I’m finding that the more knowledgeable I become with ingredients and cooking styles the higher my expectations are when I go out to eat at other restaurants and when I’m cooking for family and friends. My palate has definitely become more sophisticated". My passion is what created EatinAsian.com. My love for writing, producing and hosting is what created RoKi Productions. Kimlai has a bachelor degree in Communications with a minor in Psychology from Washington State University. She is registered with the California Special Olympics organization and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.