Happy New Year rabbit and cat
The Lunar New Year began on Sunday. It’s a time to celebrate and hope that 2023 brings more peace and calm. The world can certainly use more peace.
The Chinese New Year celebrates the rabbit of the Chinese zodiac calendar. In China, millions of people will return to their ancestral villages to visit family they may not have seen since 2020 and the beginning of the COVID pandemic. It is the greatest annual human migration. Trains, buses, airplanes, and cars will be packed with returning well wishers.
The Chinese will celebrate from January 21 to 27. The celebration begins with the first full moon of the new calendar year so it can fall in mid-January to mid-February. I was glad to hear that a Chinese friend would not be traveling due to the danger of contracting COVID. However, it is estimated that 80% of the population has been infected, perhaps lending some degree of herd immunity to the travelers. Doctors, however, are projecting a COVID surge due to a lack of immunization or inferior vaccines. I hope not.
This year there’s some disagreement in the media about what animal of the zodiac calendar represents 2023. California’s recognizing Lunar New Year as an official state holiday is partly the reason for the heightened attention. The Vietnamese, recently at least, are celebrating the year of the cat, absent the rabbit. I have non-Asian friends who seem to be celebrating the decade of the cat. It has little to do with the Vietnamese.
“The ancient Chinese word for rabbit pronounced ‘mao’ turned into ‘meo’ for cat in Vietnamese.” (USA Today) Also, cats are common in Vietnam where they are appreciated by farmers for ridding their rice fields of rats. However, in older Vietnamese texts, it’s the Year of the Rabbit. Perhaps, we are witnessing a streak of independence by the Vietnamese who were colonized by the Chinese for 1,000 years.
What are the characteristics of those born under the sign of the rabbit? They are said to be quick-witted and empathetic. Their superior reasoning skills make them scholarly. However, their discretion and focus on goals can make them less trusting of others. (Washington Post)
Our local reporter, Elizabeth Mayoral Corpus, writes in this past Sunday’s Imperial Valley Press about the Chinese underground, La Chinesca, in Mexicali. It was active in the early 1900s and served as an integral part of the community. There are various interpretations of the underground part of Mexicali’s Chinatown. Its tunnels may have served as secret passages into the United States or existed as protection against the extreme heat of warmer months. Corpus writes that tours of the underground are available from Origenes y Secretos de la Chinesca.
I have not visited Mexicali’s underground La Chinesca, but last November we were fortunate to be in San Francisco and visit that city’s historic Chinatown. We hooked up with a walking and eating tour that got us off the well trodden Grant Avenue and took us into the alleys and small local restaurants. The tour guide related the history of Chinatown as a refuge for Chinese with or without entry papers. We would stop at a small dim sum restaurant for a taste and then move on. Along the way we would sample Peking duck, Chinese teas, and fortune cookies.
We will celebrate Lunar New Year with visits to Imperial Valley’s numerous Asian restaurants. We are blessed with abundant choices of Asian food from Chinese to Japanese to Thai. My only regret is that there is no central celebration, no dragon dances or booming drums. Perhaps next year.