February 1st is the Chinese New Year also known as Lunar New Year/Spring Festival.
Over 2 billion people celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year and their collective hopes for good health, love, and prosperity reverberate throughout the planet. There is not a place in this world that can claim not to be impacted by this rich culture. I’ve always loved watching the dragon parades and other special cultural activities.
The date of the Lunar New Year is never the same. This is because of my old friend the moon. It usually falls between January 20 and February 21 depending on the cycles of the moon.
Each year has a corresponding animal from the Chinese Zodiac and this year is the TIGER’s turn. The Tiger is the third sign of the Chinese Zodiac and is considered ruler of the beasts on earth. I am sure you have noticed that many Chinese kids wear hats or shoes with a tiger image for good luck.
A person born in the year of the TIGER is considered to be courageous, optimistic, tolerant, and generous. They can expect a long life and were born to command, not to obey. Famous people born in the year of the TIGER include Lady Gaga, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Queen Elizabeth II.
So what will the year of the TIGER bring for the collective? Well, it will definitely be better than the hardworking, exhausting year of 2021 which carried the energy of the OX. The energy of the Tiger is always about:
strength
overcoming darkness
bravery
In the days leading up to Chinese Lunar New Year, people go big on cleaning their homes! I’ve decided to join them. Not that I needed a reason. You do know that I find cleaning very therapeutic!?
It is customary that windows are scrubbed, bedding changed, doors are left wide open and lights are left on (often overnight). People literally wipe away all the old to make way for the fresh new energy to enter their lives and bring with it all the good luck, prosperity and good fortune for the new year.
If you are thinking of jumping on the bandwagon and joining this wonderful tradition, I must warn you: like Cinderella 12 midnight is your curfew! You must finish all cleaning by midnight as cleaning on the first day of the new year is strictly forbidden in case you wash away the new good luck.
I found a list of some other things that you should absolutely NOT do on Chinese new year if you want to avoid bad luck. I giggled at some of them:
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/chinese-new-year-taboos.htm
Have fun, friends! I wish you good fortune and prosperity. I hope you find the courage to channel your inner Tiger in 2022. You are braver than you think.
xoxo
Cara – Seeker of Magic, Spreader of Light
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