Just when I thought Jan 25th would be the last I would see of the "rat" year, I read that the actual day when the Ox takes over is Feb 4th. Apparently, we celebrate CNY to acknowledge the start of a new Lunar New Year calendar, nothing to do with the 'governing' animal, so to speak. That didn't just dampen my mood, it got me into a whirlpool spin coz the year of the rat did nothing except to cause upheaval in my life.
I must say that I do not follow feng shui to the T, neither do I have that many superstitions, yet to think that I have to bear with the Rat another week or so wasn't something that washed down well. People say it's just superstition and ancestral beliefs, yet that is the very grounding of chinese culture. I was raised to observe all these beliefs and although I refuse to obey the no sweeping thing I still do not pick up the broom unless it's really critical to the cleanliness of that space. How does a person get rid of all these cultural beliefs without seeming to be superstitious? Tough call - I do it unconsciously because having lived in the parental home and grand-parental home for too many years, it certainly becomes something you just do. And so, religiously, I would read up on any material I can get my hands on for the new lunar year with the hope that life wouldn't look so bleak.
We have many little blessings that allow us to live day by day, yet we do need that boost sometimes just so the day becomes a bit more bearable. Mine occurs before the CNY season, which for 2009, is now. All my excitement has simmered down by leaps and bounds - when will this painful rat get away from me? If I could just use a glue trap and flush the damp thing down the toilet, I would - but then again, I may not, simply because that's cruel and it wouldn't be good for my karma - so I should club the rat who is stuck on the trap before flushing him down the toilet!
Well, the up-side is, there is always a way when we have the will.
So, Feb 4th it is.
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