Happy Year of the Dog!
Chinese New Year follows the lunar calendar, so it falls on a different day of the Western calendar each year, always some time around January or February. The zodiac consists of twelve animals, repeating in a specific order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. This year, 2018, is the Year of the Dog. It is my mother’s year. I was born in the year of the Horse. Similar to astrology, it is believed that each animal has specific personality traits.
The legend goes that all twelve animals participated in a race. Near the end of the race, the animals had to swim across a river. The cunning Rat hopped onto the Ox, who was swimming across in the lead, and hopped off once they were back on dry land to win the race.
As a child, I remember seeing dragon dances, hearing fire-crackers popping, and cymbals and drums crashing in parades and performances in the Chinatown area of downtown Cleveland, Ohio. My aunt taught traditional dance, so I’d often watch family and friends perform, waving fans, flags, or silk ribbons, or pounding drums. Seeing the red and gold decorations appearing in restaurants and stores during the preceding weeks always filled me with excitement. The cold, gray, Ohio winter would come to life once again. I remember family gatherings, huge tables of food, and... hong bao (red envelopes)! It is traditional to give younger family members red envelopes of money during Chinese New Year. What kid doesn’t like getting some extra cash?
A packed and decorated temple.
(These next couple images are from my family’s celebration in Taiwan. I was here in Montreal.)
Here are a few more traditions and superstitions for Chinese New Year:
1. Wearing red and gold attracts good luck and fortune. It is bad luck to wear black or white, which are colors associated with death and funerals.
2. Firecrackers, drums, and cymbals are used to scare off evil spirits and bad luck.
3. Homes are cleaned before the New Year, but cleaning is avoided the day of, because good luck might be thrown out or swept away with the dirt and trash. Trash is not thrown out for the first three days of the year. People will also avoid bathing on New Year’s Day.
4. Similarly, one should not get a hair cut near Chinese New Year, as it symbolizes cutting your life short.
5. Mandarin oranges are displayed and eaten, as they are a symbol of good luck.
6. Fish are also another sign of luck and fortune, which is why many New Year’s decorations involve fish. A fish dish is placed on the dinner table on New year’s Eve, but it is not eaten then. It is saved for New Year’s Day, so the “leftover” fortune from the old year can flow over to the new.
In the bottom right corner, you can see the fish dish, which is covered with plastic so it can be saved for later.
7. It is common to go to the bank to exchange old money for crisp, new bills. The money given in red envelopes is always brand new money.
8. The number 8 is always a lucky number in Chinese tradition! But avoid things in groups of four, especially when giving gifts, as the word for “four” in Chinese sounds similar to the word for “death.”
My beautiful grandparents getting ready to dole out some dough.
The Body Art
I realized I hadn’t ever done a body art piece specifically for Chinese New Year, and I was excited to give it a try. Henna is not traditionally used in Chinese culture. I saw this as an opportunity to blend boundaries, and create something with a new medium. Henna stains are a lovely deep red color, which pair well with the red and gold gilding I added. I used common images associated with Chinese culture and the holiday: plum blossoms, which are Taiwan’s national flower, and red lanterns. As it is the year of the dog, I placed the silhouette of a dog in the center of my hand. The arched pattern on the fingers is a common pattern seen in Chinese decoration and art.
I did my makeup to be a modernized version of traditional Chinese makeup. Historical artwork, and images from Chinese operas show women with pale faces, straight, soft brows, red and pink hues on their eyelids, cheeks, and temples, and small, red lips. Styles varied through dynasties.
I wanted some of the photos to feel like they were from an earlier time. I grew up in the United States, and I loved looking through my family’s photo albums from Taiwan, seeing my mother and grandparents in sepia and soft colors, my young grandmother in an elegant but western dress of the ‘50s. My much of my heritage is held in memories that others made long before I was born. My identity is a mix of Eastern and Western traditions, and they way they came together. Old photos and new celebrations. Hong bao with American bills. Dragon dances in Cleveland slush.
