F: Is for festivals

Yesterday started the celebration known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam, and Sol in Korea. Chinese New Year is the most important of all festivals in Asia. It is a time of sweeping away all traces of misfortune and acquiring luck and prosperity. Traditionally new clothes are bought and worn to symbolize the discarding of the past. Bamboo is given to friends and love ones to help acquire wealth and debts are paid off so one may begin anew. Though held in January/February the dates vary yearly as it revolves around the cycle of the new moon. Each year is named after a sequence of animals that all carrying a certain quality. 2007 is the year of the boar. The dragon and lion dances are among the most spectacular of all the festivities held. As many as 50 or more people support long dragons and lions made from vibrant paper and cloth while dancing in processions down city streets. The dancers perform to the beating of gongs and drums, while other celebrants perform acrobatic displays. Some of the performers may occasionally reach up to take red money packets or fruits and vegetables hung from storefronts. The celebrations end with the lantern festival, an event in which merchants hang lit paper lanterns outside their shops. Many of the lanterns rotate with the heat of the candles they contain. Children often parade through the streets during the lantern festival, carrying lanterns of various shapes and patterns. If you took a stroll to Chinatown yesterday you could of seen the roaring of the lions. However the brightly lit streets and the delectable treats will be around for about two weeks. Each year is enhanced with the qualities of the animal it is named after. The year of the boar is a sign of honesty blessed with patience and understanding. It is a year to enjoy life and all it has to offer, including family and friends. It is not a year to be gullible for you will be taken advantage of. If you have things you need help with this is a year to ask for help and not stubbornly hold onto the past. It is a time to forgive and forget everything and a time to keep peace.
There is however an imbalance of Yin and Yang energy and therefore this will be a year with countless gossip and arguments. There will be disputes everywhere, on every level. People will have fights just for the sake of conflict. Communication will make others feel good if its not forced. On the upside objects and people that have long been forgotten; and those items with profound historical significance will reappear and gain significance once again. Economically, countries that are less affluent will see more resources and national growth in 2007. Finally, accidents are likely to occur to structures or geographic formations situated with height, such as satellites, mountains, houses or bridges. May the year of the boar bring you much prosperity and peace and may that be a F.A.C.T.