Celebrating "CHINESE NEW YEAR" @ SFO's Chinatown

*CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE*

2007: Year Of The Pig

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pig (zodiac)

Hai (亥) is the twelfth sign of the Earthly Branches. Its animal representation is the Pig ( 豬). In Chinese culture, the pig is associated with fertility and virility. To bear children in the year of the pig is considered very fortunate, for they will be happy and honest.

Nomenclature
In the continuous sexagenary cycle, every twelfth year corresponds to Hai, and is commonly called "the Year of the Pig" (豬年). Less commonly, it is also called "the Year of the Boar", for two reasons. First, the character 豬, which denotes pigs generally in Chinese, is used in Japanese to refer specifically to wild boars.[2] Secondly, the pig has negative connotations in some Western cultures, and may even be considered a profanity. In official usage among English-speaking countries, Singapore[3] and the United States[4] prefer the term "Year of the Boar", while Commonwealth countries such as Australia [5] [6], Canada[7] and the United Kingdom[8] prefer the term "Year of the Pig".

Years and the Five Elements
Persons born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "year of the Pig," while also bearing the following elemental sign:

30 January 1911 - 17 February 1912: Metal Pig
16 February 1923 - 4 February 1924: Water Pig
4 February 1935 - 23 January 1936: Wood Pig
22 January 1947 - 9 February 1948: Fire Pig
8 February 1959 - 27 January 1960: Earth Pig
27 January 1971 - 14 February 1972: Metal Pig
13 February 1983 - 1 February 1984: Water Pig
31 January 1995 - 18 February 1996: Wood Pig
18 February 2007 - 6 February 2008: Fire Pig
5 February 2019 - 24 January 2020: Earth Pig
2031 - 2032: Metal Pig
2043 - 2044: Water Pig

Note, however, that the elements identified in the above table are the elements associated with the relevant Heavenly Stem of that year. The Earthly Branch sign Hai (the sign represented by the Pig) itself is always associated with the element of Water.

The Pig type is usually an honest, straightforward and patient person. They are a modest, shy character who prefers to work quietly behind the scenes. When others despair, they are often there to offer support. This type of person is reserved with those they do not know too well, but as time passes and they gain confidence, those around them may discover a lively and warm-hearted person behind that mask of aloofness. Despite those born in the year of pig having a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, they have few close friends who understand them and share their inner thoughts and feelings. It is easy to put trust in pig type; they won't let you down and will never even attempt to do so. Such people simply want to do everything right according to social norms.

It is important to remember that these people are not vengeful creatures. If someone tries to take advantage of them, the pig type tend to withdraw to reflect on the problem and protect themselves. All they need in such situations is a little time to find a constructive way to respond. The people of the pig type are conservative creatures of habit. They dislike being made to travel too far from familiar surroundings, unless it is a trip to the countryside. They love nature and are never happier than when they are out somewhere, far from the city.
There is a tolerant and peaceful side to their character. Such people are never afraid to allow others their freedom of expression; they do not want to cause arguments and if there is any way to avoid arguing, they will probably take this option. They are not weak, however, and if the situation forces them to fight these people will rise to the occasion, whether it is to defend themselves or those close to them.

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Photos here were taken this afternoon after husband and I walked around the streets of Broadway, Grant, Union, Pacific, and Columbus. There was a flea market in Chinatown and thousands of people came by to celebrate this annual event, commemorating the advent of springtime this year, 2007- also known as the year of the pig.

The streets were decorated with red and gold. The ambience was festive. Lots of tourists came by. We locals are always convivial to see how the people of the world give importance to our city and visit them as much as they could. At around 4 PM, we passed along Jackson and heard a band playing, the soloist was singing the old version of Michael Jackson's "You And I." We paced towards the crowd and found ourselves dancing the box steps to the tune of the music. We love it- the dancing and the music being played! We started the ice breaker (dancing) and after a while, some folks followed through which was great. First, we were at the back; next, we moved to the front. Then, we were moving side ways, up and down the hilly street. It was a bit hard to dance when the road is not flat (*haha*) but we did well (*more laughs*).

The street where we were dancing was crowded. You can tell people just loved the music! Some folks watched the band, others seemingly wanted to dance but were deeply anchored at their strategic place in this part of Chinatown.

For me, the rule of thumb in dancing is simply to enjoy it and not to be self conscious about dancing style or skills. The essence is self-expression. To be self conscious is absurd. If can you overcome this then you can learn to dance. And a winner in the end. When you reach this level of mind, your learning process would elevate you into a better being.

In the past, moi husband never loved dancing (he said) and he did not know how to dance, he added. But I am a good teacher, he articulated this and I did motivate him well, according to his memory lane. Today, he is the picture of a confident dancer who knows his ways with his rhythm. Occassionally, I shake my head in disbelief. I asked myself quietly,

“Is this the same man who told me once(before we were married) that he couldn’t dance?”

Now I just laugh at that thought! His self confidence in dancing has improved immensely in time. Wow!

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BTW, the traditional Chinese New Year Parade was scheduled today at 5 P.M. but we decided to walk instead back to our flat. Although the SFO Chinatown's Parade is known to be the largest parade of its kind outside of Asia, we decided to skip it. We were tired from walking, dancing and shopping! For the route of the parade, click the link below to enlarge it:



Coming home, we bought two big bags of potting soil, eye drops, and lotion. (Husband had a tough time carrying them-they were heavy he said, haha).

Being a garden buff myself, I would do my gardening this year with the emergence of springtime that is why we purchased the potting soil. I am excited to plant soonest!

So far, our Chinese New Year here in San Francisco ended absolutely well with us being home at the end of the day. I cooked steamed rice, broiled chicken with side dish of broccoli and green beans broiled with butter. These were served with the spicy vinegar. Yummy! Tonight, as I write this entry, husband and I are both working on each of our own laptop. I am doing my journal here online while he is uploading his photos and file information pertaining to his Ebay stuff.

As always, writing is therapeautic for me because it energizes me every now and then which is wonderful. Cheers!