The Year of the Snake

Happy Asian New Year! It is not too late to celebrate!

I love the February holidays.  All of them.  But this one especially, for two reasons.  The first is that it is so celebratory.  The second is that about a third of the planet has spent the last two weeks celebrating. It is not anywhere near universal, but as a diverse planet goes, this is a big one.  It has the added bonus that it is disconnected from religion—nobody is going to fight a war over this. Ok, I am going to add a third one, and that is that the celebration goes on for two weeks.  My family was not a ’12 Days of Christmas’ family—despite my English roots, my family doesn’t do Boxing Day (or paper crowns and firecrackers, for that matter).  So I love a holiday that has staying power.

When I was in high school I had a good friend whose family emigrated from China, and as is so often the case with immigrant families, they knew all sorts of other Asian immigrants.  Many of whom were excellent cooks.  I had the great good luck to be able to enjoy a wide range of foods prepared to celebrate the upcoming year, so I developed a love of Chinese New Year that has continued well into adulthood for me.

I like the idea of characterizing each year as well.  I have no idea how much this influences the character of the year itself or the person who is born then—not that I believe that it would inherently confer personality traits, but we do so often become the person that we are expected to be.  The Year of the Snake child has the usual complexities that make us human.  On the up side, they often have a good temper and a notable skill at communicating concisely. They possess gracious morality and great wisdom. They are usually financially secure and do not have to worry about money. They have tremendous sympathy for others and are charitable—they would like to take actions to help their fellow human beings. They are determined to accomplished their goals and they hate to fail. Although they look calm on the surface, they are intense and passionate. They have a rich source of inspiration and understand themselves well. They are people of great perception.

Now for the bad news.  They are likely to be jealous and suspicious. They should be cautious about what they discuss with others, because their frankness might cause them to lose friendships and opportunities. They tend to overdo things. They prefer to rely on themselves and have doubts about other people's judgment. They are courteous, with polite manners, but they can be headstrong. They are fickle and usually have problems in relationships or marriage problems. 

So, all in all, a pretty good mix of characteristics.  Please, everyone, enjoy the Year of the Snake.