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February 2005 From the Director New Year Around the Globe "View from the Cross Road" Last week from Beijing to Boston, from Hanoi to Hancock, folks of Chinese and Vietnamese heritage were busy "an tet," celebrating the new year, year of the Rooster in their twelve year cosmic astrology. Everyone became a year older instead of marking individual birthdays. Folks thoroughly scrubbed their homes (and then themselves!), paid off all debts, placed a blooming branch of plum or peach blossoms in a vase, prepared enough food to allow mother three days without cooking, put money gifts (which children will spend instantly on firecrackers) into red envelopes, and tended the kitchen god's altar with fruit and incense. After a smoky fusillage at midnight, they may get a little sleep before donning their newest clothes to visit grandparents on the first day of the three day celebration and, in later days employers and friends. It is a time for renewing and acknowledging bonds between people. Banh Tet, steamed dumplings wtih various fillings, make the rounds as gifts, sometimes ending up back in the hands of the original giver. Russian New Year follows much the same pattern, with fireworks instead of firecrackers AND a New Year Tree instead of a peach branch in blossom, with presents brought by Father Frost and the Snow Maiden. It is very important to spend the day peacefully,without a raised voice or argument, for as the new year begins, just so it will continue. Vodka replaces champagne or the Asian's rice wine for toasting. So, I am thinking of the five New Year celebrations I have experienced at home and abroad, and the many yet to be explored. Mine are Vietnamese/Chinese, Lao-Cambodian in April, Hmong after harvest, Western, Russian. To celebrate the New Year in Vietnamese, one says "an tet," literally "eat the new year."and every celebration I know of has food and drink in abundance. Asian New Year is actually named "Spring Festival," although following the lunar calendar means it keeps moving back towards deep winter. Hmong New Year follows Harvest Time, in early winter for us. Lao/Thai/Cambodian New Year stick close to a more springlike April 12,and in a hot climate therefore grows rowdy with water throwing rather than fireworks: everything is washed and blessed for the new year, including statues of the Buddha, the town elders, and your friends. Buckets of water are thrown at your good friends, even their middle-aged mothers like me! The Hmong of Southeast Asia (and Minneapolis and Fitchburg, thanks to resettlement after the Vietnam War), celebrate New Year after the harvest, sometime between November and January! They too wear their best clothes, startlingly bright without the dust of the year's agricutural life of their everyday garb. Their celebration includes music, rice wine, and a courtship game that allows teenagers from different villages to get to know each other. The girl's and boy's teams stand parallel and throw a cloth ball back and forth. The one who misses must make up on the spot a witty song making fun of the other side. The Japanese adopted Western New Year, January 1, a day when we toast with champagne and noise makers at midnight, wear silly party hats, listen for the church bells. In the South, some eat a dish made with black eyed peas to insure prosperity. On New Year's Day, people sleep late, watch parades in person or on tv, and then tune in for an afternoon of football. In the south, some eat a specialty of black eyed peas, each pea standing for abundance. Polka dot clothes, the dots being shaped liike coins, are similarly considered lucky for Asian New Year. While Asian New Year is a good time to consult a fortune teller - which ranges from a person to a bamboo container of possible outcomes on slim sticks to a chicken which when rewarded will pick out your fortune from an array of papers in front of it. One does many acts to insure good luck for a prosperous and healthy new year. Now, we want those same things in the West but our New Year stresses resolutions, ways to influence the future not by luck but by improving ourselves (though we know it's a rare resolution that makes it to Valentine's Day). So, I'm a bit stuck teasing out the common themes among these new years. I do find a common thread of family, abundance in food and drink, a certain rowdiness, and an eye to the future rather than the past. Readers, please write to me with your own insights and your own family traditions. My family has always adopted customs from others. The New Years Custom I like best is "the lucky person." The first person to cross your hearth on the first day of the New Year will bring you look all year. Those who are not very trusting may pre-arrange to have a respected friend or neighbor come call early and be the first. Me, I'd wait for the surprise! Remarkably, teacher Sue Henley of Peterborough tells me the same custom persists in her native Gloucestershire, England. May the Year of the Rooster bring stability and strength, the characteristics Asians associate with this animal. Also, good health, good luck, peace and prosperity to all! Addendum: To learn more about holidays worldwide, visit Mariposa Museum of World Cultures in person. A family celebration from distant shores is celebrated at the museum monthly as part of the Sunday program series called "Community Sundays," The museum is open weekdays 12-5, anytime by appointment for groups, Sat. 10-4pm and Sunday 12-4pm. It's a wonderful place for families to enjoy together! Sincerely,  Linda Marsella, Director Mariposa Museum & World Culture Center 26 Main Street Peterborough, NH 03458 "From the Director" Archive New Year Celebrations Around The World - December, 2005 Holiday Message - December, 2005 Miscellaneous - October, 2005 Miscellaneous - September, 2005 Letter of Thanks - August, 2005 Mariposa at the Crossroads - July, 2005 Call for Entries - July 2005 Ark Sets Sail in spring floods! - April 2005 New Year Around the Globe - February 2005 Mariposa Turns Two! - July 2004 other cultures, the world will know more peace and less war. 
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