The moon was low and yellow above the apartment buildings, a little past full. I could see the rabbit clearly: the crouch of its haunches, its head, its two long ears sticking up. I stopped at the crossroads and looked carefully. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t trick my eyes into seeing the Man in the Moon. Like one of these optical illusions where once your eyes construe it one way it’s hard to see it differently, I could only see the rabbit.
The rabbit in the moon, the Jade Rabbit, is part of Chinese folklore, along with Chang’e the moon goddess. (This is why China’s lunar exploration missions are called Chang’e, and why its first lunar rover was named Jade Rabbit). Chang’e and the Jade Rabbit don’t have much part to play in the upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations — their story is told at the Mid-Autumn Festival — but as I looked at the rabbit in the moon on my way home the other day, I realised the fullness of the moon meant New Year was just a couple of weeks away.
I guess most people know that Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, is the biggest and most important festival in the Chinese calendar. Supermarkets started putting out Spring Festival goods a couple of weeks ago: festive snacks, New Year candy, big gift boxes of dried fruit or nuts or cookies, pyramid displays of red socks and underwear. (If the coming year is your birth year in the Chinese zodiac, you’re supposed to wear red socks and/or underwear to fend off the bad luck that is likely to attack you through the year ahead). Many, many people will be travelling back to their hometowns to celebrate with their families, carrying quantities of gifts in boxes and bundles.
For us, it means a month off, a very welcome break for students and teachers alike. This term was longer than usual, because Spring Festival is slightly later this year but our campus tries to keep somewhat in sync with the partner universities in the UK and US. Hence the reason we finished the first semester, had two weeks of exams, then had two weeks of the second semester. No-one wanted to be in the classroom at that point. By the last couple of days, students had begun to drift away home. The more courteous among them sent emails to ask for leave, mostly along the lines of “I tried to buy a train ticket for Saturday but because of the travel rush the only ticket available was Friday, may I have leave for Friday afternoon’s class?” I was only too happy to grant their requests. We all breathed a sigh of relief after finishing the last class.
Before the term ended, we got our own bundle of gifts, courtesy of the university’s Labour Union. These Spring Festival gift packages are always a source of cross-cultural joy to me. Rice and oil are a given. The other items can vary, but are almost always food. This year’s haul included: a large bag of rice, a pack of buckwheat noodles, three varieties of tea, two varieties of red Chinese date, one can of walnut oil, two varieties of walnut kernels, one pack of dried sweet sausages, one box of vacuum-packed corn kernels, three types of dried mushroom or fungus, and one box of something called “nine-procedure steamed and dried Siberia landpick.” Even after eating a piece, I still don’t know exactly what “Siberia landpick” is, other than that after undergoing its nine procedures it’s soft, brown, squidgy and tastes like a sweet Chinese medicine. I might seek another home for it.
As well as the festive goods, New Year decorations have also been popping up. Our office building has had two cutesy dragons adorning the entrance for a few weeks already. The Year of the Rabbit is giving way to the Year of the Dragon, so I expect to see dragon decorations aplenty in the next couple of weeks. The dragon year is considered particularly auspicious, a year when there’s often a bump in the birth rate as parents try for a dragon baby. I’ll have to find some good dragon-themed stickers on WeChat to send all my friends on New Year’s Eve. Traditionally, New Year’s Eve is when people eat a big meal with family and set off lots of firecrackers (though these are now banned in a lot of the big cities). A more modern tradition is to watch the New Year’s Eve variety show on China Central Television after dinner, nibbling on snacks, criticising the dullness of the acts, and sending WeChat messages to all and sundry.
I’ve had the privilege of spending Spring Festival with local friends and their families several times. If you’re not with a local family, though, it’s not the most exciting time to travel in China. A lot of the country is cold and grey and it feels like everything’s closed because everyone’s gone home.
So, I’m going to visit some old friends in Xi’an, where I first lived when I came to China, then take off and go travelling elsewhere in Asia. Canal Town Teacher is therefore going to take a break for a few weeks. I’ll be back just before the start of the new term, ready for the Year of the Dragon.
Happy New Year, again!
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