Feb 09, 2005 21:38
Today marks the beginning of another year, for those of us from the East who worship the moon and not the sun as they do over here. It is amazing how time has stood still in my heart, no matter how many moons have passed. It seems like yesterday that I was still just a boy running along the side of the street, marching to the beating drums of the Lion Dance. Every boy and girl knew what the New Year would have in store for them, because mothers and fathers would bring home cakes and candies and new cloths, and not again for another year. The anticipation felt unbearably good :) Children would give their elders well wishes. Elders would give their children little red “pockets of luck”, filled with whatever money they could afford. It is said that you must wait for an entire year to pass before spending the money, if you want the purchases to be fruitful and fortunate :þ Oh the sweet agony of the wait!!! Wherein does pain not lie? Even in fortune their is a little bit of suffering. People lined the streets, waiting for the Buddha of the Earth to lead his well tamed lions around and around the tiny little shops. Each lion is fashioned in bright, shining colors and given a pair of the biggest, batting eyes. One winks at me everytime. Hehe. They danced up and down the sidewalk, to bring good fortune to all the shopkeepers. In return for the kindness, every shop would hang a red pouch of money high on their marquee for the lion to take, so that it would remember them and come again next year. The distance from the ground to the marquee is bridged by a single, smooth bamboo pole. It is quite a trick to climb this thing, especially when you are not a real lion and have to do it while wearing shoes. LOL! Only the best students of the best kung fu schools can pull off this feat. And this year, I saw for the very first time, a lion dance performed by cubs, the school’s junior students. The children were not more than 10 years old, I would guess, so the lions looked so small and cute :þ In the background, the echo of a thousand firecrackers would explode in your ears, because every house would light at least one or two strands. Your ears would hurt for days, but how else could you bring good luck into the home? Hehe ;) Each strand is double-braided to make sure that the pieces fire correctly in succession, lest one misfire and ruin the entire dominoe effect. If that happens, LOL, then misfortune would loom over the household for an entire year! So you have to make sure :) People take three days off from work, and the festivities would last for an entire month. I love Tet (our word for New Year’s Day). It is nothing like what they celebrate here in the West. It was another time, another place. Perhaps all those pockets of luck really worked, for I have made it this far and gotten the chance to see it all over again, if only a glimpse.