Happy Chinese New Year! Let’s Celebrate
By Aisleagh Jackson | 0 Comments | Posted 02/19/2015
Today, February 19, is the beginning of the Chinese New Year. Across the globe, festivities have been underway for weeks to usher in the year of the Wood Sheep (or Goat, depending on your translation). Wherever you might be, there are tasty treats to be had, fireworks to ahhh over, and gold coins in red envelopes to gift the kids in your life. If you have access to a lantern festival, do try and attend- it a beautiful sight. As an added bonus to Westerners, Chinese New Year’s gives us a handy reboot for all our 2015 goals.
Many traditions surrounding this day are excellent ways to kick off the New Year in style:
- Start the year with a clean house
- Make sure your entry way is clean, clear and inviting!
- Settle unfinished business
- Resolve any unsettled quarrels with friends or outstanding debts
- Eat some dumplings (who doesn’t like dumplings?)
- Pick up some lucky plants
- Wear red underwear for luck (sure, why not?)
A major theme here is “out with old, in with the new.” If you’ve been looking for some design inspiration, take a look at the principles of feng shui; start with the basics, or check out some 2015-specific tips. Try it out for career success, attracting love, enhancing your health, and attracting positive energy. Drawing out a Bagua is a great way to get to know your space and identify stagnant areas (I’m looking at you, stash-drawers and forgotten cupboards). Whether you chalk it up to clearing room for positive energy to flow, or the relief of having no chores lurking in the wings, the benefits can be abundant. (I myself, a tidy-person-in-progress, have grown somewhat superstitious about chores- it seems every time I make a sweeping improvement, the phone rings off the hook with new opportunities.)
For lovers of astrology, horoscopes and predictions for the year abound-from financial tips to overviews, sign-specific to reminders of what each sign means and beyond. There are even guides for how to consider your chinese sign while planning your feng shui makeover. Lovers of history and mythology might take this invitation to dive into the wonderful world of Chinese lore.
However you spend your day, I hope a bit of the New Year’s magic rubs off on you- I, for one, will be chowing down on some dim sum (after brushing up on my etiquette, of course!)