2022 Lunar New Year of Tiger Special Section
Georgia Asian Times
2022 Lunar New Year of The Tiger
The Year of The Tiger Chinese Astrology involves 12 zodiac signs, each ruled by a different animal, and the five elements- wood, water, metal, earth, and fire. Starting on the Lunar New Year of 2022, which falls either on January 31st or February 1st, depending on your timezone, the ruler of the Chinese zodiac will become the Water Tiger. The Tiger is a fierce, brave, and courageous animal, signaling that this Lunar year ahead is one where we can conquer our fears and go for our goals. There is no dream too big or ambition too great in the year of the Tiger! The year of the Tiger allows us to tap into our own inner power and know that there is nothing we can’t achieve when we put our mind to something. In fact, the year of the Tiger is often a positive omen when it comes to career advancement. If you have big dreams, a daring goal, or a project you would like to get off the ground, the year of the Tiger offers the confidence and support you need to make it happen. Keep in mind however, that the Tiger is a patient creature that takes time to stalk its prey and make its move. While we can absolutely leap and make daring strides, we also have to be patient and trust that things will align in perfect timing. Just like the tiger hunts for its prey, we can make calculated moves but also be patient and wait for the perfect opportunity to pounce. In Chinese Astrology, the year of the Tiger is said to bring sudden change and can shift the balance of power and money. We may see this manifesting in the world around us as we collectively begin to review what we truly value. Western Astrology also supports this idea in 2022, as there is energy floating through the cosmos this year that is
likely to change the things we value and the things that we deem as worthy on both a personal and societal level. Our values are up for review, and with this review, we may find that we begin prioritizing new things and ways of being in our own lives. The Tiger is not just a powerful, courageous creature but also a very intuitive one too. It has a keen sixth sense and is able to perceive things in its environment that we cannot. In the year of the Tiger, we can take on some of these intuitive skills and use them to help guide our decisions forward. By trusting our inner voice, and paying attention to the subtle cues of our environment, we may notice the signs and clues the Universe is sending to guide us. The element of water also enhances the intuitive energies of the 2022 Lunar New Year. The element of water can also heighten our emotions and make us more sensitive to the energies of the world around us. Feeling extra sensitive can be a superpower and help us connect to the frequencies of the Universe, allowing us to feel at one with it all. But, feeling extra sensitive can also be draining and depleting if we don’t protect ourselves or take effort to care for our energy.
The element of water also indicates we have to be willing and ready to go with the flow this year. We may find it hard to feel stable or secure in our footing, but if we join the rhythm of the waves we will have a much easier time than trying to fight against them. In Western Astrology, there is a strong pull to creating security and a building solid foundation in 2022. Perhaps the Water Tiger energy reminds us that while we can build our foundations and take steps to create a feeling of security, we can’t get too attached. Perhaps there is a certain element of surrender still needed as we progress through the year. Water is also a highly creative energy, indicating that this Lunar New Year can be particularly favorable for creative projects. Western Astrology also supports this idea with Jupiter spending most of the year in the water sign of Pisces. While in Pisces, Jupiter will also join Neptune, the God of the Sea, enhancing the creative and intuitive force of the element of water. In the year of the Water Tiger, and with Jupiter and Neptune both in Pisces, the element of water will be extra strong. We may also see this reflected in mother nature with an increase in rainfall or even flooding or tidal waves.
Taking extra steps to protect your energetic body is going to be important this year, and we can do so by working with the healing powers of water.
Our attention may also be drawn to ways we can create more sustainability around our water supply and the treatment and management of water.
Water holds vibration, so charging up a glass of water before we drink it, setting an intention before getting into the bath or shower, or spending time in the ocean are all ways we can connect with the healing powers of water.
The year of the Water Tiger is one of ambition, courage, intuition, and creativity. Here are some actionable steps you can take to embody this energy: Push past a fear or limiting belief that is holding you back
Catch yourself in any thinking that starts with “I am not good enough…” and see if you can switch it to “What if I can…” Take a courageous leap to try something new Find ways to boost your career satisfaction Reconsider your values and what is truly important to you Be patient, wait for the right moment to take action Connect with your inner feline energy- explore what this means for you Use water for healing- charge up a glass of water with an intention before drinking, take baths, spend time near the sea, etc.
2022 Lunar New Year of The Tiger
Lunar New Year of The Tiger Calendar of Events in Metro Atlanta Lunar New Year Celebration Presented by FASCA & Atlanta Chinese School Date: January 30, 2022 Time: 1:00pm-4:00pm Venue: Chinese Culture Center 5377 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee GA 30341 “Bringing in the New Year” Grace Lin Chinese Performing Group Date: Jan 30, 2022 Time: 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m. Tickets: $19.95 Venue: Children Museum of Atlanta, 275 Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta Miss Vietnam Georgia Pageant 2022 Date: Jan 30, 2022 Time: 11:00am-6:00pm Venue: Space Ballroom, 6100 Live Oak Parkway, Norcross GA 30093
Lunar New Year at Atlanta Hawks Date: Feb 1, 2022 Time: 7:30pm Tickets: $15-$259 Venue: State Farm Arena
Georgia Asian Times
R A N N E W U L Y Y EAR! P P AH
2022
Lion Dance Performance by Chien Hong School of Kungfu in Chamblee & Buford Hwy businesses Date: Feb 1, 2022 Lunar New Year of Tiger Celebration-Virtual Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association GAPABA Date: Feb 10, 2022 Time: 7:00pm Register: https://gapaba.org/ event-4668540
YEAR OF THE TIGER Wishing the community health, wealth and prosperity in the new year. Explore Gwinnett offers free assistance with planning meetings and conventions. Please contact Anne Chen anne@exploregwinnett.org 770-814-6056
ExploreGwinnett.org
2022 Lunar New Year of The Tiger
Georgia Asian Times
Symbolic Food of Lunar New Year Certain dishes are eaten during the Chinese New Year for their symbolic meaning. Lucky food is served during the 16-day festival season, especially New Year’s Eve, which is believed to bring good luck for the coming year. The auspicious symbolism of these foods is based on their pronunciations or appearance.
with some left over, as this has auspicious homophonics for there being surpluses every year. This is practiced north of the Yangtze River, but in other areas the head and tail of the fish shouldn’t be eaten until the beginning of the year, which expresses the hope that the year will start and finish with surplus.
Not only do the dishes themselves matter, but also the preparation, and ways of serving and eating mean a lot.
There are some rules related to the position of the fish.
The most common Chinese New Year foods includes dumplings, fish, spring rolls, and niangao. Fish — an Increase in Prosperity In Chinese, “fish” (鱼 Yú /yoo/) sounds like ‘surplus’. Chinese people always like to have a surplus at the end of the year, because they think if they have managed to save something at the end of the year, then they can make more in the next year.
The head should be placed toward distinguished guests or elders, representing respect. Diners can enjoy the fish only after the one who faces the fish head eats first. The fish shouldn’t be moved. The two people who face the head and tail of fish should drink together, as this is considered to have a lucky meaning. These customs are observed in a lively and light-hearted spirit, full of laughing and banter. Fish can be cooked in various ways such as boiling, steaming, and braising. The most famous Chinese fish dishes include steamed weever, fish with pickled cabbage and chili, steamed fish in vinegar sauce, and boiled fish with spicy broth.
The Meaning of Various Fish What fish should be chosen for the New Year feast is based on auspicious homophonics. Crucian carp: As the first character of ‘crucian carp’ (鲫鱼 jìyú /jee-yoo/) sounds like the Chinese word 吉 (jí /jee/ ‘good luck’), eating crucian carp is considered to bring good luck for the next year. Chinese mud carp: The first part of the Chinese for “mud carp” (鲤鱼 lǐyú / lee-yoo/) is pronounced like the word for gifts. So Chinese people think eating mud carp during the Chinese New Year symbolizes wishing for good fortune. Catfish: The Chinese for “catfish” (鲶 鱼 niányú /nyen-yoo/) sounds like 年余 (nián yú) meaning ‘year surplus’. So eating catfish is a wish for a surplus in the year. Eating two fish, one on New Year’s Eve and one on New Year’s Day, (if written in a certain way) sounds like a wish for a surplus year-after-year. If only one catfish is eaten, eating the upper part of the fish on New Year’s Eve and the remainder on the first day of the new year can be spoken with the same homophonic meaning. How a Fish Is Eaten Matters a Lot The fish should be the last dish left
Chinese Dumplings — Wealth With a history of more than 1,800 years, dumplings (饺子 Jiaozi ) are a classic Chinese food, and a traditional dish eaten on Chinese New Year’s Eve, widely popular in China, especially in North China.
Chinese dumplings can be made to look like Chinese silver ingots (which are not bars, but boat-shaped, oval, and turned up at the two ends). Legend has it that the more dumplings you eat during the New Year celebrations, the more money you can make in the New Year. Dumplings generally consist of minced meat and finely-chopped vegetables wrapped in a thin and elastic dough skin. Popular fillings are minced pork, diced shrimp, fish, ground chicken, beef, and vegetables. They can be cooked by boiling, steaming, frying or baking. How they’re made: Almost all Chinese
people can make dumplings. First they mix the dough, second make the dough into round “wrappers” with a rolling pin, third fill the wrappers with stuffing, fourth pinch the “wrapper” together into the desired shape, and fifth cook them. Different Dumpling Fillings Have Different Meanings Chinese don’t eat Chinese sauerkraut ( 酸菜 suncài /swann-tseye/) dumplings at Spring Festival, because it implies a poor and difficult future. On New Year’s Eve it is a tradition to eat dumplings with cabbage and radish, implying that one’s skin will become fair and one’s mood will become gentle. How to Make LUCKY Dumplings When making dumplings there should be a good number of pleats. If you make the junction too flat, it is thought to purport poverty. Some Chinese put a white thread inside a dumpling, and the one who eats that dumpling is supposed to possess longevity. Sometimes a copper coin is put in a dumpling, and the one who eats it is supposed to become wealthy. Dumplings should be arranged in lines instead of circles, because circles of dumplings are supposed to mean one’s life will go round in circles, never going anywhere.
Spring Rolls — Wealth Spring rolls (春卷 Chunjuen) get their name because they are traditionally eaten during the Spring Festival. It is a dish especially popular in East China: Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Fujian, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, etc. Spring rolls are a Cantonese dim sum dish of cylindrical-shaped rolls filled with vegetables, meat, or something sweet. Fillings are wrapped in thin dough wrappers, then fried, when the spring rolls are given their golden-yellow color. Glutinous Rice Cake — a Higher Income or Position In Chinese, glutinous rice cake (年糕
Niánggao) sounds like it means “’getting higher year-on- by year”’. In Chinese people’s minds, this means the higher you are the more prosperous your business is a general improvement in life. The main ingredients of niangao are sticky rice, sugar, chestnuts, Chinese dates, and lotus leaves. Sweet Rice Balls — Family Togetherness Sweet rice ball (汤圆 Tongyuán / tung-ywen/) is the main food for China’s Lantern Festival, however, in south China, people eat them throughout the Spring Festival. The pronunciation and round shape of tangyuan are associated with reunion and being together. That’s why they are favored by the Chinese during the New Year celebrations. Longevity Noodles — Happiness and Longevity Longevity noodles (长寿面 Chángshòu Miàn) unsurprisingly symbolize a wish for longevity. Their length and unsevered preparation are also symbolic of the eater’s life. They are longer than normal noodles and uncut, either fried and served on a plate, or boiled and served in a bowl with their broth. Good Fortune Fruit — Fullness and Wealth Certain fruits are eaten during the Chinese New Year period, such as tangerines and oranges, and pomeloes. They are selected as they are particularly round and “golden” in color, symbolizing fullness and wealth, but more obviously for the lucky sound they bring when spoken. Eating and displaying tangerines and oranges is believed to bring good luck and fortune due to their pronunciation, and even writing. The Chinese for orange (and tangerine) is 橙 (chéng), which sounds the same as the Chinese for ‘success’ (成). One of the ways of writing tangerine (桔 jú / jyoo/) contains the Chinese character for luck (吉 jí /jee/). Eating pomeloes is thought to bring continuous prosperity. The more you eat, the more wealth it will bring, as the traditional saying goes. The Chinese for pomelo (柚 yòu) sounds like ‘to have’ (yu), except for the tone, and exactly like ‘again’ (又 yòu).
Georgia Asian Times
In our Chinese tradition and culture, there are a lot of do’s and don’ts during the period of Lunar New Year. You might have heard it from your parents or the elders before but have forgetten and here you are – 15 Taboos for Lunar New Year first day. There is always a phrase that goes “To be safe than to be sorry”, so believe it or not, it is still up to you! A good guide for the upcoming Lunar New Year
of the lunar year is known a “萬神 節” which is believed that all the gods are out for the New Year, that is why we must eat vegetarian to respect the elder. In additional, if you don’t have any serious illness, refrain from eating medicine or any tonics.
Lunar New Year Traditions – What Not To Do on Lunar New Year First Day
If you wake the person up in full name, it imply to ask the person to be always in a hurry to do things for the full year. 
1. Married women cannot go back to their own parent’s house
It is believed that if a married woman who return to her own parents on the first day, she will cause her parents to become poor, that is why, they can only go back on the subsequent days instead. But you can always think in a positive way that the wife has to give a helping hand to his husband side to serve and entertain visitors during the first day.
2. Do not have congee, porridge, meat or medicine for breakfast In the past, only the poor family eat porridge in the morning, so you must eat dried rice instead to attract wealth for the year. The first day morning
3. Refrain from waking people up by calling full name
4. Do not pay new year visit to people who are still sleeping Do not pay visit to people who are still in their dreams as it might indicate that the party that you called will be jinxed to be in the sick bed for a year. So just wait for them to wake up!
5. Do not consume medicine. If you eat medicine in Day 1,
you will be jinxed to eat medicine for the whole year and sickness cannot be cured.
6. Do not use knife or scissors It is believed that if you use these sharp objects, you will likely to have gossip and argument for the year.
2022 Lunar New Year of The Tiger
7. Do not touch knit and needle
It is believed that if you are pregnant and touch needle in day 1, your born baby will have eyes as small as a needle.
8. Do not use axe to chop wood
Firewood in Chinese is 柴, same sound as 財 wealth, so if you chop the firewood, it means splitting your wealth into half and never come back.
9. Do not loan money to people
If you lend money to people on the first day of lunar new year, it indicate that the wealth cannot be accumulate for the year.
10. Do not break cutlery like plate, bowl, wine vase or etc.
It is inauspicious to break home cutlery but if you accidentally broke it, just throw it away after Day 5.
11. Do not sleep during daytime
If you sleep in the day time during the chinese new year period, it means that you will be very lazy and lethagic for the rest of the year. It also show a sense of disrespect because there will be a lot of visitors and you should be entertaining them instead.
12. Refrain from throwing away dirty water, rubbish and sweeping the floor. If you do the above actions during the new year, it is easy to sweep away your wealth too.
13. Do not take things out from your own pocket
If you don this, it imply that your wealth will be taken from others for the year.
14. Do not chase after debtor during the new year (Chase it before it instead!)
This will bring bad luck to you for the whole year.
15. Do not wash your clothes
There is a water god and the birthday of the god is Day 1 and 2 so refrain from washing. After reading these taboos, you might find it untrue or to the extent of absolute absurd but it is always the same phase “To be safe than to be sorry”. It is still up to the individual to believe or not. How about you? Do you still follow these Chinese New Year Traditions?
2022 Lunar New Year of The Tiger
Georgia Asian Times
8 ways to celebrate Lunar New Year in metro Atlanta
1. Lunar New Year Eve Dinner (Jan 31) with family Most families would celebrate the all important reunion dinner at home or at a restaurant. Other than homes, consider dining at established restaurants such as Oriental Pearl Seafood Restaurant, Canton House, Royal China, and Bobo Garden on the Buford Highway-Chamblee corridor. You may also want to consider dining at Masterpiece, Nam Phuong, Chow King Buffett, or Pleasant BBQ Garden in Duluth. 2. Dim Sum brunch on the Lunar New Year Day (Feb 1) Enjoy a relaxing Dim Sum brunch at restaurants that specializes in Dim Sum offerings. Royal China, Canton House, Oriental Pearl Seafood Restaurant in Chamblee offer tasty Siew Mai, Har Kao, Phoenix Claws (Chicken Feet), Egg Tarts, Stuffed Beancurd etc. East Pearl Restaurant and Happy Valley Restaurant are excellent choices in Gwinnett. 3. Enjoy spectacular fire crackers, lion dances, cultural and food festival Two venues provide an amazing experience for those who enjoy fire crackers, lion dance performances, and variety of food. The Chinese Culture Center and Chinatown Mall in Chamblee have been popular destination for over 30 years. 4. Relax with Boba Bubble Tea Take a break from all those eating and enjoy a concotion of sweet black boba milk tea at Tiger Sugar at Pleasant Hill. Or visit Kung Fu Tea or Gong Cha located across metro Atlanta.
5. Have a fun and spa experience at Korean Spa or bath houses This popular traditional Korean bath house offers a relaxing spa and cleaning rituals for the body. Be forewarned on full nudity in locker rooms. There is a food court onsite where spa goers can dine on variety of popular Korean dishes. 6. Enjoy a game of bowling with family and friends A friendly place with colorful ambiance -- this family and kid friendly place offers an opportunity for the whole family to connect in a fun environment. 7. Sing your heart out at Karaoke lounges Sing in style at some of the popular Karaoke lounges in town. Do Re Mi Karaoke and Karaoke Bar are the popular places for you to belt out your tunes. 8. Savor finest quality single malt Japanese and Taiwanese scotch Finest Japanese and Taiwanese single malts scotch are available at Fumi Sushi and Hibachi. World famous brand such as Yamazaki, Kavalan, Hibiki, Yoichi are available in the bar of the restaurant.