Have you Ever Wondered Why There Is No Year of the Cat?



Fan showing the Chinese Zodiac

In Chinese Folklore, the story of how the Chinese Zodiac came into being tells about rivalry, competition and cooperation amongst the animals vying for an honored place in the zodiac.  If you are an aficionado of cats, you may ask yourself’ “Why no cats?  Isn’t the cat a lucky animal in Asian cultures?”

 

maneki-neko

It is true that cats are considered lucky, especially in Japan where the maneki-neko or beckoning cat originated.   You may have seen a maneki-neko in Asian business establishments because it represents a wealth and prosperity feng shui cure.  If you know nothing about feng shui, it literally means wind and water, which we think of as harmony.  Practitioners of feng shui take the bagua, “a grid that reveals how the different areas of any building [or space] you occupy are connected to specific aspects of your life,” and place that grid over homes and businesses to let the owners know how to arrange their belongings to the best advantage.  So the maneki-neko in a business is placed near the entrance to welcome good customers; in a home it should be placed in the southeast (to the right of the entrance) part of the bagua, the wealth and money area. 

 



Jade Emperor

But to get back to the Chinese Zodiac story which begins with the Jade Emperor who ruled the Heavens.  On his birthday he arranged for a swimming race to be held across a fast running river.  The first twelve animals to cross the finish line would have a year of the zodiac named for them.

 Rat and Cat, good friends back then, were afraid they might not stand a chance as they were not good swimmers.  “Let’s ask Ox (water buffalo) for a ride!  He’s a wonderful swimmer.”  So they asked; and Ox, who was easy going and kind as well as a good swimmer, complied. 

 The river was swift and rather deep, but Ox was strong.  Rat and Cat cheered as he took the lead.  Close the far side of the river, Rat crept up behind Cat and suddenly pushed him into the water where Cat began to flounder.  Then climbing onto Ox’s head Rat jumped to the shore before Ox could step upon the land, and proudly presented himself to the Jade Emperor.

 “Ahhh...,” said the Jade Emperor. “The first year of the zodiac will be named after you, Rat.”

Calendar from May Wa Restaurant

Ox was tricked into second place, but he was content with the second year of the zodiac being named after him.  The rest of the animals followed in this order: Tiger, also a strong swimmer; Rabbit, who hopped across the river on stones and then floated on a log; Dragon, who was not first because he helped the others by providing rain and pushing Rabbit with a little extra breeze; Snake who rode across on Horse’s hoofs; Horse, who is now fearful of snakes; Goat, Monkey and Rooster, who shared a raft and arrived together; Dog, who had taken the time to bathe in the river; and Boar, who ate and rested before coming.  Twelve animals in all.

 

Comet

As for Cat, pushed into the water by Rat, he finally crawled out of the water wet and bedraggled, but was too late to have a year named after him.  Cat has taken his frustration out on Rat and his cousins the mice ever since.


(In some versions Rat promises to wake Cat; but fails to so, which is just as devastating to Cat.)   
 

So now you know why there is no Year of the Cat.  

 

 Some other interesting notes about Chinese New Year.  The Chinese New Year follows the lunar calendar, thus changing from year to year as to when it begins.  The celebration lasts fifteen days, ending with the Lantern Festival.  The whole fifteen days are known as the Spring Festival.

 

This year begins on January 31.  It is year number 4712, the Year of the Horse.  Each animal has special characteristics attributed to it.  If you want to know what your zodiac animal is click here .  There are also other interesting articles about the Chinese Zodiac on this website.  Here's another website with fun activities.

Karen Chace, a storytelling friend, has a wonderful blog.  Click here for her offering of stories about horses.

Another interesting blog about the Year of the Horse can be found here.  To quote from it, "...grab a fistful of mane, hang on to the reins, cast your old cares to the wind and let out a whoop of delight–Yeeehaaw!"

Waiting ...

I’ve spent a great deal of time waiting the last two months.  Waiting can be exhilarating, tedious, a practice in patience, tiring, full of anticipation, frustrating.  It all depends upon the circumstances surrounding the waiting and whether or not the person waiting has any control over why they are waiting or what they are waiting for.

Waiting to recover from an illness is frustrating.  Your mind is ready to go full-tilt, but your body must have time to recover before it can run smoothly again.  Much of my waiting during the winter has been this.  It’s like taking the car in for service to have one thing fixed and being told there are three other repairs that have to be done now.

Waiting for a Gathering or Meeting (as in meeting another person) that is anticipated to bring great joy and delight is a practice in patience.  We can put our time to good use in preparing for the arrival of Joy.  We can be mindful of how we are proceeding with our wait.

Julie and Cathryn

Jessica Baris and me

Daoist Temple in Chinatown

Waiting for an Event that is sure to offer more than advertised is exhilarating.  Everyone loves getting a good deal, don’t they?  I waited all of January and a bit of February for such an Event.  It proved to be well-worth the wait.  Thanks to Storyteller, Cathryn Fairlee, for her invitation to spend Chinese New Year with her and my cousin, Peggy, for a great time in San Francisco!  Also while in San Francisco, I was pleased to meet in person Wakeful Storyteller, Jessica Baris, whom I had just met a few days earlier via Skype thanks to Buck Creacy and his World of Storytelling Radio.


Waiting for a well-deserved Reward that is having difficulties putting in an appearance is frustrating.  Most of us desire our promised rewards on time.  Come on, we deserve it, don’t we?



Waiting for a Gift is full of anticipation.  Anticipation is titillating, exciting and makes the waiting all seem worthwhile.  





Denver International Airport

Waiting in an airport as I was doing when I wrote this because flight connections did not work (the wind gods plotted on high resulting in a five hour wait) is tedious and tiring. But at least I had something to occupy my mind (my book to read was with me instead of in my suitcase and the internet is free!) and could take a walk to exercise my body. I could have been bored or surreptitiously eaves dropped on others' conversations and watched people scurrying about. Which is, of course, way more fun than being bored!  I wish I had known about the quotation from Diane Wolkstein which is on the window in the B Concourse (thanks to Regina Ress for letting us know about this wonderful tribute) because I would have gone to see it.  Now I must wait until I fly again!

So there are all kinds of waiting.  What do you like or dislike waiting for?

© Julie Moss Herrera, 2013

Chinese New Year - Spring Festival

What Westerners call Chinese New Year, the Chinese call the Spring Festival.  All Chinese Festivals are special events, but Spring Festival is the biggest, most elaborate and lasts the longest – 15 whole days and nights!  Each day has a special significance (See below).  Spring Festival begins on the first day of the first lunar month under the new moon; fifteen days later Spring Festival ends with the Lantern Festival which is celebrated under the light of the full moon.  This year that corresponds to January 23 and February 6 on the Gregorian calendar that Westerners use.

Before the Spring Festival begins cleaning, cooking, and shopping must be completed as the evening before the first day of the first lunar month is for spending time with your family, eating and telling stories.  Midnight marks the transition to the New Year with firecrackers and dumplings.  Spring Festival’s fifteen days all have special tasks.

First Day: No cleaning!  All your good fortune might be swept out the door!  Children are given money in decorated red envelopes.  And the gods are welcomed.

Second Day: Prayers are sent to your ancestors as well as the gods.  Dogs enjoy their birthdays this day.

Third and Fourth Days: Sons-in-law are expected to show their respect to their in-laws.

Fifth Day: The God of Wealth (Making Money Correctly) is welcomed into homes.  You should not be out visiting when he comes.

Sixth to Tenth Days: Visiting friends, relatives, and the temples takes place.

Seventh Day: Traditionally people eat noodles to bring long life.  It is also humankind’s birthday.  Farmers are honored on this day.

Ninth Day: Offerings are made to the Jade Emperor.

Tenth to Twelfth Days: Visiting is over and invitations to family and friends to join you for a meal are given. 

Thirteenth Day: Take a break from overeating and eat simply on this day.

Fourteenth Day: All preparations for the Lantern Festival are made.

Fifteenth Day: The Lantern Festival is celebrated under the first full moon.  Lanterns are lit, parades wind through the streets, and sticky rice balls are consumed.

The Chinese Zodiac consists of twelve animals each representing a year every twelve years.  This is the year of the Dragon (long 龙).  People born during Dragon years are said to be energetic, imaginative, full of fun and lucky.  Dragons are the movers and shakers of the world.

Chinese Dragons are benevolent, unlike the Western Dragons which are cruel and demand sacrifice.   The Dragon was the symbol of the Emperor because the Dragon represents wealth, wisdom, power, and nobility.  In the old days only the Emperor could wear this symbol.

Story of Nián

The Chinese word for year is nián (年).  There is good reason for this.  Nián was the name of a ferocious monster with a voracious appetite that plagued the countryside every year eating livestock and people as well.  So each year the people of the villages would flee to the mountains for safety driving their livestock ahead of them.

One year an old man entered the village just as everyone was fleeing.  He stopped at the home of an old woman and asked, “Why are the people leaving your village?”

“Because,” she answered, “they are afraid.”

“Why are they afraid?” the Old Man queried.

“You don’t know?”  The Old Woman was incredulous.  She told the Old Man about Nián and its terrible appetite.

“Ah…”  The Old Man stroked his beard.  “Would you like to be rid of Nián forever?”

“Of course,” replied the Old Woman.  “But how can we do that?  It eats everything!”

“Leave it to me.  May I stay in your house tonight?”

“Yes, but I hope you will still be here when we return.”  And with that the Old Woman picked up her bundle and was off.

The Old Man covered the all the windows with red paper and cloth.  He made pyres of bamboo on the paths leading to the entrances.  He set firecrackers up so he could light one and all would go off.  And then he sat back and waited.

That night the Old Man heard a terrible roaring and gnashing sound.  He peeked out the window and saw Nián emerging from the dark.  Quickly he lit the fires and firecrackers.  Nián saw the red in the windows and the bright flames from the fires.   Nián heard the loud pop pop of the firecrackers.  Nián stood still, then turned and ran away into the night.

When the villagers returned to their homes, there was the Old Man waiting for them.  They crowded around him with questions flying.  He held up his hand; then told them about what had happened in their absence.

“Really?” the villagers asked.  “Nián is afraid of red, loud noises and bright light?”

“Yes,” answered the Old Man.

And the celebration began.  Now every year people all over China and elsewhere in the world celebrate the New Year with Red, Loud Noises and Bright Lights.  And Nián has not been seen since.

There are many versions of the story of Nián.  This version of the story was told to me by Mr. Li Kuo, a teacher from Heilongjiang Provence located in the Chinese rooster’s head.  Mr. Li is spending the current school year teaching Mandarin to HS students in Monte Vista, CO, and was a great help in finishing the pinyin glossary for my book, Old China through the Eyes of a Storyteller, to be published by Parkhust Brothers late Summer, 2012.

Here are some websites that give more details about the Chinese New Year.

http://education2.uvic.ca/Faculty/mroth/438/china/chinese_new_year.html

               Brief explanation of the Chinese New Year and links to more details.

http://china.mrdonn.org/newyear.html

               A fun social studies website for teachers and students.

http://www.rightathome.com/Family/Articles/Pages/WelcometheDragon.aspx

               Hints for things to do to celebrate as well as ads for Johnson cleaning products.

http://www.china-family-adventure.com/chinese-zodiac.html

               Simple explanation of the twelve Zodiac animals and a very brief story about why these twelve and not others.