♪ twenty-second water clone [voice]

[ninthserenade]

What's this Chinese New Year thing all about? I know someone mentioned a festival and I've heard of it before when I went to the Land of Dragons in the past but I never really stuck around to find out what it's all about. What year is it, anyways?

[A short pause and then his voice abandons the confused tone in favor of a cheerful one

Comments

[Voice]

[oh_neku_dear]

The Chinese New Year falls differently compared to the Western version. In China, it's much more traditional, and lasts for fifteen days. They will typically have a thorough cleaning of the house to symbolize a purging of misfortune, and the recurring symbols seen during this celebration is "happiness," "longevity," and "wealth." On the 15th day, there's a feast between the families to symbolize the end of the old year, and they also typically hold a Lantern Festival. There's quite a bit of mythology that backs up the tradition, such as wearing or having red decorations to scare off evil spirits.

To answer your other question, it's 2011, the year of the rabbit if I remember correctly.

[...Bathrobes?]

Are you thinking about kimonos?

[Voice]

[ninthserenade]

Huh... What's the rest of the mythology? I'm kinda curious about that now--How'd they get the animals for their years and stuff?

Yeah! Those!

[Voice]

[oh_neku_dear]

The story of the Chinese Zodiac is pretty famous, though there are some variations. For example, one story is that there were thirteen animals that were issued a challenge from the Jade Emperor. They had to race each other for a position in the Zodiac. The Rat tricked the Cat into thinking the date of the race was a day after the real day. He also tricked the Ox into giving him a ride, thereby becoming the first animal of the Zodiac. The other animals that participated became a part of the Zodiac according to how they placed, except for the Cat. They say in one story that the Cat was so angered by the Rat's trickery, that it swore revenge against all rats.

Hee hee, I suppose you could if you want to. It's traditional to wear bright colors or red to ward off the evil spirits.

[Voice]

[ninthserenade]

I can't say I blame the cat if that's what happened... Poor thing. Why'd the rat wanna trick him, anyways?

Hey, it'll give me an excuse to wear something other than this black uniform, right?

[Voice]

[oh_neku_dear]

The Rat is seen as a trickster by nature, which ties into the horoscope for those born in his year. Some stories say that the Rat did it out of cruelty, but others say that it was out of a rivalry between the two.

Fair enough. It does look like it'd get boring to wear pretty fast.

[Voice]

[ninthserenade]

Kinda like how dogs and cats don't like each other, right?

It's comfortable but it gets annoying having to zip three feet of zipper every day. Maybe it'll get rid of some of those 'bad guy' vibes they give off.

[Voice]

[oh_neku_dear]

Yep. Interestingly enough, the Cat is part of the Korean's version of the Zodiac. It just replaces one of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac.

Oh, I don't know, I feel more "stalker" vibes with you all wearing those coats.

[Voice]

[ninthserenade]

Really? Which one?

Hey! That was one time!

[Voice] D'oh, I screwed up. It was the Vietnamese one, not Korean. orz

[oh_neku_dear]

He replaces the Rabbit.

One time's all it takes for some.

[Voice] zodiacs are hard to keep track of ;;

[ninthserenade]

I was lost!

[Voice] Yes they are. orz

[oh_neku_dear]

That sounds like a sorry excuse.

[Voice] wryyyy

[ninthserenade]

But I really was lost!

[Voice] idk, man ;;

[oh_neku_dear]

Well, I hope you've learned a few lessons from it.

[Like not trying to give off stalker vibes and carrying around a map.]

[Voice]

[ninthserenade]

Never open a portal in the middle of a desert and end up having to follow some dude on a flying rug back to the city. It's engraved into my brain, I know.

[Even if he could've just portaled into the city... This kid, honestly.]