Year of the Green Horse ~ Happy Chinese New Year!

I like the Horse years, maybe because I was born in one. They contain elements of fire and wood, of travel and strength and generally good outlooks. If you go into the depths of feng shui predictions, it can get very confusing as to what this year is supposed to bring. Even the actual date of the celebration is not tomorrow, but February 3rd, except in China, where it's the 4th. Did I mention it is confusing? Confusing enough to give me a slight headache. Here is an example from one website, this one concerning the dates:  

In the Chinese Fortune-Telling calendar, the first day of the first month, Tiger month, is called "Start of Spring", which is when the sun enters the 315th degree on the tropical zodiac. In China's time zone, the time of the Start of Spring is at Feb-04 06:04. So the first day of the Green Horse astrological year 2014 is on 04-Feb-2014.
However, the time of the Start of Spring in US Eastern Standard time is at Feb-03 17:04.  The Start of Spring time in US Pacific Standard time is at Feb-03 14:04. So the first day of the Green Horse astrological year 2014 is on 03-Feb-2014 in US time zones.
The Chinese New Year Day of 2014 is on January 31, 2014. It's 4 days before the first day of the astrology calendar in 2014. There is a very common misconception that the astrology animal signs begin on the Chinese New Year day in many Internet sites. Actually, the Astrology animal signs begin from the Start of Spring, the first day of the astrological year.
So if you are extremely interested in finding out about all things Year of the Green (or Wood) Horse 2014, you'll have to go there yourself. For the American quickie version, go here. Good luck (always).

What was easy to understand is that this is also a Yang Horse year, which last happened, interestingly enough to me anyway, in 1954, the year I was born. So depending on how deeply I'm letting this belief sway me in its breeze, this should be an interesting year, because I don't really understand what a Yang year is either, except that "Yang is the white area of the symbol, means sunlight or positive literally", and that's a good thing. No matter what, it already is an interesting year. It's not like I'm Chinese. Except on Chinese New Year's Eve.

Enough already!

What should you be eating tonight to insure good fortune in the Chinese year ahead? If your plans included horse meat, I'd suggest rethinking your menu. Otherwise, there are some great recipes all over the web. The traditional dish, Buddha's Delight or Jai, includes 18 ingredients, about 3 of which can be found on Culebra, so I'm going to pass. Hopefully, it won't screw up my karma too much.

From all the reading, I end up with this. Our year, our months, our weeks and our days are basically what we make of them. There will be joy and sorrow, hilarity and grimness, serendipitous wonders and deep disappointments. I only know to keep looking for the wonder, keep close to those you love and who love you. Don't let money dictate your contentment. Remember to smile and say good morning to people you pass (unless it's not morning, that would be silly).

Be ready for the unexpected

Life is good. As one Chinese New Year greeting goes "Keep a green tree alive in your heart and a songbird may come to sing there."

 Have a transitional Thursday. Do something tuneful.