Chinese New Year: Here’s to living in hope in the year of the rabbit

Chinese New Year has arrived with a hoppity-hop. The Year of the Rabbit dawns on Sunday and the fourth animal in the 12-animal Chinese zodiac bounds to the top of the cosmic wheel with an overriding outlook of hope.

The symbolism and association of the rabbit is of longevity, peace and prosperity. This year is also linked to water, which with a rabbit year comes around only at a 60-year rotation. Water is associated with clarity, flexibility and renewal. The rabbit is also the Chinese zodiac animal linked with abundance and has a strong connection to the moon. And as the moon is the celestial ruler of phases, seasons and cycles, it holds the hope of new chapters to unfold this lunar new year. This is what forecasters, geomancers and tuned-in grannies will say.

It’s timely though, and if nothing else, matches the mood and yearning of the world. After all, the outgoing Year of the Tiger focused on mustering courage, boldness and a “go big or go home” attitude as we had to take the first steps out of our Covid caves and recalibrate in a post-pandemic normal. The past year also demanded resolve and resilience as the reverberations of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rippled through the world, with energy prices skyrocketing, food insecurity becoming a reality and temperatures for all-out conflict rising.

But whatever churns in the big wide world and however the year turns out according to the zodiac’s designs, Chinese New Year is first and foremost a time of family, home, thanksgiving and reunion. It’s celebrated across the globe by billions in the diaspora.

It draws its traditions from China’s strong agrarian roots that are intertwined with seasons, harvests and the interplay of thanksgiving and appeasement of gods, deities and ancestors.   

Reunion, in a country such as China, sees massive waves of temporary internal migration in the days and weeks before the new year as people make their way from the cities to their ancestral homes to be with loved ones.

Celebrations centre on dispelling negative energies of the past year by ritually scaring off any lurking demons and bad spirits, and inviting good luck, good fortune and new abundance into the home and community.

Preparations begin with cleaning the house, a symbolic clearing out to make way for goodness. It also ties in with the end of the northern hemisphere’s harsh winter and anticipation for better days as hints of spring’s promise become apparent. This is also why the Chinese New Year celebration period is referred to as Spring Festival.

Decorations are key, with bright, auspicious red dominating. Inside houses there will be Chinese lanterns, paper cuttings and the four-character fai chun (as they’re called in Cantonese), which are couplets of lucky sayings and blessings hung at entrance halls and on doors.

Homes are filled with flowering plants such as plum blossoms and orchids. There will be round trays with six or eight compartments symbolising togetherness and filled with goodies like candied lotus root and red watermelon seeds. There are bowls of fresh fruit, including plump oranges and kumquats, with lucky red packets called lei see stashed among the fragrant citrus. Lei see are filled with monetary gifts (always in even amounts and handed out in pairs) and given by parents and elders to children.

Then, as New Year’s Day arrives, firecrackers are set off, with loud bangs and sparks to banish the bad. Drumming and lion and dragon dancing set a fresh pulse and rhythm for the new year. It’s also the signal for feasting and festivities to begin. People will don a new outfit in bright colours for renewal.

Bellies should be over-full and the menu should groan with delicious dishes that symbolise prosperity or have connotations of wealth, fortune and happiness. Typical are dumplings to represent gold ingots, whole steamed fish for head-to-tail continuity of good luck, nin gao, a steamed rice-flour cake, for sweetness, and spring rolls, fried golden to look like bars of the precious metal.  

The celebrations are said to have first been held in the days of Emperor Yao, who ruled around 2356 to 2255BC. These days Chinese New Year is for everyone who wishes to join in.

Kicking off the celebrations on home soil this year will be festivities on Sunday at the Nan Hua Temple in Bronkhorstspruit near Pretoria. The jam-packed day begins with a light-offering Buddhist dharma ceremony, followed by cultural activities, martial arts demonstrations and dance performances.

While Chinatown in Cyrildene, Johannesburg, has not scheduled an organised street celebration this year, the restaurants and shops along Derrick Avenue will be open and the buzz will no doubt continue throughout the first 15 days of the new year, traditionally the number of celebration days of the Spring Festival.

Chinatown’s annual street celebrations in Commissioner Street in central Johannesburg have not made a return since Covid-19 lockdown. However, The Chinese Association (TCA) will host a ticketed public event at Sacred Heart College in Observatory. The festivities will include lion and dragon dancing, food stalls and performances. The evening will be topped off with the much-loved musical fireworks display.

Happy Year of the Rabbit, everyone!