Chinese New Year 2007-Year of the Pig, February 18

[hb06]

"Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese year 4705 begins on Feb. 18, 2007."

"Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ernest Hemingway, Alfred Hitchcock, Mahalia Jackson, David Letterman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger were all born in the year of the pig."

"If you were born in 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983 or 1995 - you were born under the sign of the pig. Like the pig, you are highly regarded for your chilvary and pureness of heart, and you often make friends for life. For pigs in 2007, any recent setbacks or obstacles can be overcome so look forward to a year in which to really shine, either personally or professionally."

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/chinesenewyear1.html

[huskers]

I plan to have a pig in a blanket for supper tonight to celebrate. :P

[Jack Kelly]

My kids, when I finish the ice cream at the bottom of the carton, are convinced I was born under the sign of the pig. In truth, I am a snake.

We'll celebrate an unusually late Chinese New Year's this year, leaving only a month to fully recover in time for St Patrick's Day. Hey, just made the connection that St. Pat drove the snakes out of Ireland! Oops.

[Tideland Prius]

Yeah, it's a bit later than usual. And HBO is celebrating waaay in advance lol.

[hb06]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Jan 12 2007, 07:07 PM) [snapback]375003[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, it's a bit later than usual. And HBO is celebrating waaay in advance lol.
[/b]

Am already planning for a good meal.

It is not a 1-day event like it is here. By the beginning of February there will already be some action.

"New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year."

[Godiva]

I'm year of the horse.

I already put a display in the library. All of our Chinese New Year books are on display, I printed out some stuff from the internet, including out to draw all 12 Chinese Zodiac symbols in chinese characters and.....the 12 Chinese zodiac beanie babies.

[hb06]

Chinese Zodiac-the 12 animal signs and years

"What sign are you? The Chinese have attributed specific characteristics to those born under the signs of 12 animals. The following is a brief description of the different animal traits and the corresponding birth years."

http://www.infoserve.net/dragongate/zodiac.htm

[Tideland Prius]

btw, I find it funny that in the topic description, the "happy new year" greeting is in cantonese, which is a dialect, rather than in Mandarin lol.

[hb06]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Jan 13 2007, 01:21 PM) [snapback]375240[/snapback]</div>

btw, I find it funny that in the topic description, the "happy new year" greeting is in cantonese, which is a dialect, rather than in Mandarin lol.
[/b]

The referenced new year greeting in the Cantonese dialect is most commonly used and known in the United States as a result of the large population of the first wave of Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong and Canton. The northern dialect of Beijing and the language of the government seat is Mandarin. With the next wave of Chinese immigration from mainland China and Taiwan, Mandarin is now more commonly heard, and in a group with multiple dialects, the Mandarin new year greeting, Gong Xi Fa Cai (Pinyin) (Gung Syi Fa Tsai, Yale) would be used as the lingua franca although there are numerous Chinese dialects, in most cases mutually unintelligible to each other, but back to the meal....hmm

[Jack Kelly]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Jan 12 2007, 07:53 PM) [snapback]375035[/snapback]</div>

I'm year of the horse.

I already put a display in the library. All of our Chinese New Year books are on display, I printed out some stuff from the internet, including out to draw all 12 Chinese Zodiac symbols in chinese characters and.....the 12 Chinese zodiac beanie babies.
[/b]

Most excellent, Godiva, especially in view of the befogged psyche you bear from your accident.

As Charlie Brown (I think) might have said, being an aware and conscientious librarian is akin to peeing when you have dark pants on: hardly anyone notices.