Prism

An article about China in a blog about life in Japan. What gives?

Well, I've been exposed to all sorts of cultures here, and Chinese is one of them. Ironically, most of the people I've met with Chinese roots here speak English. Go figure.

JET is useful for more than one form of cultural exchange, it seems.

Today is the start of the Chinese New Year. I know because many of my friends are making lots of Chinese food around this time.

Food motivates me to do a lot of things.

I'm probably one of the least qualified people to talk about the Lunar New Year. I have never celebrated it before. The extent of my knowledge is in its food, and from what I have read and heard about secondhand. All I can do is talk about it from the window of an outsider.

But that has its own value, right?

This year is the year of the pig. Of all the twelve Chinese zodiac animals, I always felt bad for those born in the year of the pig or the rat. Especially when you have tigers and dragons as an alternative.

Supposedly, though, people born in the year of the pig are blessed with great fortune and prosperity, destined to be cared for for the rest of their lives.

I guess that doesn't sound so bad.

I love how each Chinese sign can be further divided into its own element. There's Water, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Wood. This is the year of the Earth Pig. I was born in the year of the Earth Dragon, apparently. That sounds so cool. It's like something out of Harry Potter, or Naruto, or Power Rangers, or any other kid's series where they get powers based on their individual personalities.

Maybe that's why some people are so drawn to this stuff. It has a fantastical twinge to it, something magical that makes you feel special by fitting into a particular, specialized category.

I've always found zodiacs and horoscopes tangentially interesting, on a surface level. I think most of it is nonsense, personally. I'm sure as hell not gonna let a cluster of stars determine my day or week or year or life, but it is fun to see how some people try to draw meaning from these cosmic things.

It's even more interesting when you compare it between cultures.

Under the western zodiac signs, someone born today would be an Aquarius, the sign of the future.

Someone born as an Aquarius is said to be:

-Unique
-Popular
-Ambitious

As well as strongly motivated by things that they want, ways to fulfill their ambition.

Meanwhile, someone born in the year of the pig is said to be:

-Materialistic
-Enthusiastic
-Realistic

As well as value positions of leadership, and be a person of action rather than words.

Those sound pretty similar, don't they? They can certainly co-exist. But still, they each have their own vibe to them, their own perspective. It's the same concept being viewed through a different window, each window having its own tint to it.

Zodiac signs may be a bunch of fluff, but as a form of cultural comparison, they're pretty neat, I think.

Seeing the different ways people interpret concepts like this is incredibly interesting. Celebrating a new year is a singular idea, but like all things on Earth, passes through a prism before being interpreted into something of cultural significance.

The western New Year I grew up with, the New England celebration of chip dip and miniature hot dogs and the ball dropping, is only one color of that rainbow, with dumplings and egg rolls and lantern festivals being another.

I would love to see a lantern festival in person someday.

Like an instagram photo with different filters, for a modern analogy.

One of the better parts of life is getting to see those different rays of light, to go from place to place and take in all of the colors coming from that prism.

And to eat the food under each ray of light.