Illustration by Grace Lin, from Bringing in the New Year
Gong Xi Fa Ca! is the traditional Chinese New Year greeting that means “wishing you prosperity” in Mandarin. The celebration begins today, on January 23, and lasts for 15 days total, ending with a Lantern Festival. Each year is associated with one of twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac: 2012 is the "YEAR OF THE DRAGON".
Traditional Chinese Dragon used in the dragon dance. Image credit: Caseman via Wikimedia Commons.
Chinese children are given red envelopes with money for luck in the New Year.
Red envelopes Image credit: BCody80 via Wikimedia Commons.
Read aloud recommendation:
BRINGING IN THE NEW YEAR by Grace Lin. Follow a Chinese American family as they prepare for the Lunar New Year. They all lend a hand as they sweep out the dust of the old year, hang decorations, and make dumplings. Then it’s time to put on new clothes and celebrate with family and friends. The celebration will include fireworks and lion dancers, shining lanterns, and a great, long dragon parade to help bring in the New Year. (The dragon parade at the end book is extra long–there's a surprise fold-out page.) Go to Grace Lin's website.
My readers living in Southern California will have probably heard of THE PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS, a major part of Laguna Beach's annual Festival of the Arts. After my daughter and her husband attended the opening night last week, she immediately called me and said I should include a post about it for my blog, because this year's program, ONLY MAKE BELIEVE, showcased the work of artists "who devoted themselves to conjuring everything from Victorian historical fantasies to illustrations for fairytales beginning 'Once Upon a Time'..." (from their press release, read more below):
Performed each night in the Irvine Bowl by the Pageant orchestra, live music remains a key part of the theatrical magic of this 78-year-old presentation of "art that lives and breathes."
From the mythological legends of ancient Greece to evocations of classic stories of buried treasure, spooky encounters and the simple pleasures of playing dress-up, the 2011 Pageant promises no shortage of fantasy fun for the entire family.
If you've never experienced this spectacle, all I can say is that you have to see it to understand and appreciate it. It is an amazing show of "art come to life", with volunteers from the community placed into a backdrop with props and lighting that recreates a famous work of art. They also recreate famous statues. The website describes it as a "uniquely theatrical celebration of tableaux vivants – "living pictures".
This year's pageant opens with Charles Buchel's 1904 Lithograph, "PETER PAN AND WENDY".
Another fun painting they bring to life is John Falter's TRICK OR TREATING IN THE BURBS (1958).
And if that doesn't convince you to go, there is a whole tribute to DRAGONS at the end of the first act. For ticket information, click here. Can't quite picture what I'm describing? Watch this quick video:
by Grace Lin. Follow a Chinese American family as they prepare for the Lunar New Year. They all lend a hand as they sweep out the dust of the old year, hang decorations, and make dumplings. Then it’s time to put on new clothes and celebrate with family and friends. The celebration will include fireworks and lion dancers, shining lanterns, and a great, long dragon parade to help bring in the New Year. (The dragon parade at the end book is extra long–there's a surprise fold-out page.) Go to Grace Lin's website.
