Happy Dragon Year 2012! 2012 龙年快乐!

Sculpture of a Chinese Dragon in the Summer Palace in Beijing, China. Credit goes to Fanghong.

Hey guess what? From this day (January 23 2012, Monday) onwards, it’s the Year of the Dragon! The dragon is the 5th out of the 12 Chinese Zodiac animals, and it’s the only zodiac animal that is mythical and has superpowers.

And I’m not talking about those evil fire-breathing medieval dragons that get killed by knights in shining armor, mind you. The Chinese dragon is widely revered in traditional Chinese culture and symbolizes auspiciousness, good luck, prosperity, and power.

The Chinese dragon is said to be the combination of 9 animals – it has the mane of a lion, beard of a goat, eyes of a demon, ears of a cow, shape of a snake, claws of an eagle, horns of a stag, scales of a fish, and the face of Sarah Jessica Parker. It controls the weather, unleashes torrential rains and floods, and can manifest itself as tornadoes and cyclones. Basically Chinese dragons are like Storm from X-Men, but much more awesome.

Supposedly, if you’re born in the Year of the Dragon* (…,1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012,…), you will be proud, noble, outspoken, intellectual, passionate, resolute, loyal, with an artistic side. On the flip side, you may be brazen, arrogant, tyrannical, intolerant, dogmatic, and have violent tendencies. Sort of like Aries.

But you know what? What really matters is that Chinese New Year is the time where the entire extended family can come together for a reunion, have fun, and actually clean up the house. Oh, and those who aren’t married yet get angpaus (red packets with money) from elders! Though you’ll have to pay that money back when you’re married anyway.

My “angpaus” for this year. If you get one, no need to feel guilty .You’re gonna pay it back one day anyway.

So again, Happy Chinese New Year 2012, and wish you a prosperous Dragon Year!

Oh, and wear red today and tomorrow. RED, I tell you. Don’t you ever wear black.

*Note: You could be a Rabbit if you were born on 1988 (or any year listed above). You see, the Chinese year does not start until late January to early February (it varies by year), so if you’re born on January 3rd 1988, then you’re a rabbit. Similarly, if you’re born on January 7th 1989, then you’re still a Dragon.

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