Hey, did you know that today is Son-in-Law Day?
And then for the next three days, you can cook and make lanterns in preparation for the Lantern Festival on the last day of the Lunar New Year festival on Saturday, February 24th?
I’m excited for the Year of the Dragon. The dragon is considered an auspicious celestial being who can control the rain and the wind, fly through the sky, and bring us prosperity.
Once upon a time, the Jade Emperor held a race for the animals to determine which ones would receive a year named after them in the Chinese Zodiac.
You would expect Dragon to win, well ahead of Rabbit, Tiger, or Ox, for example, but Dragon flew over a village in the midst of a tragic drought and stopped to make rain for them.
Later in the race, a flood threatened a different village. Dragon opened his mouth to absorb the water and move the flood back to the sea.
Nearer the finish line, a wolf pursued Rabbit. Dragon intervened, allowing Rabbit to go ahead of him. (In another version of the legend, Rabbit has to hop across stones and float on a log, and Dragon blows on the log so that Rabbit reaches the shore ahead of him.)
Dragon came fifth in the race, but showed his generous spirit.
Kind of a beautiful metaphor for me, since I’m very competitive and want to learn better how to share and lift each other up.
I was able to celebrate lunar new year for pretty much the first time. My parents never really celebrated, but I was staying with my brother’s family. Pam celebrates. She played music, and I rushed back after our second Terminally Ill show to consume her feast.
I brought home treats like Chinese celery (to make you work hard), dumplings, duck, kumquats, and egg tarts.
Wishing everyone health, happiness, prosperity, and peace this year.
Hugs,
Melissa