Happy Lunar New Year! The Year of the Dragon had ended; according to the zodiac it’s now the Year of the Snake. The reptilian year is being celebrated across Asia and around the world.
Many young people in China travel home to see in the new year with their families, and some receive the traditional greeting “Why aren’t you married?” In the new free-market China this has spawned a seasonal industry, Rent-a-Holiday-Boyfriend or -Girlfriend, to help ease the pressure. The holiday is also celebrated with truckloads of fireworks, “gifts,” lots of food, TV specials, and lion dances.
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Image: Snake, by Kōno Bairei (c.1890)
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Tags: 2013, Asia, China, Lunar New Year, Year of the Snake
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January 30, 2014 at 12:33 am
[…] Eve. Clean up the house, chase stale spirits from your kitchen, and stay up tonight and watch the Year of the Snake slither out. The Year of the Horse gallops in on Friday, January 31, 2014 and runs through February […]