[NEohioPAL] 2012 is the Year of the Dragon

Fri Dec 30 10:58:25 PST 2011

Hello everyone, 2012 is coming, and for the Chinese zodiac, it is the Year
of the Dragon, which begins from January 23, 2012 and ends on February 9,
2013. In ancient China, the celestial Dragon represents an emperor and
power. Today, it is the ultimate auspicious symbol of power, prosperity and
good fortune. Bringing good luck, good fortune, and master of authority to
those throughout the year ¨C the beginning of a great success in this
economy.

Many Chinese New Year celebration events has been planned and more will be
added at www.ocagc.org (a list is also included here), I remembered growing
up always looking for this festival 15 days, because that¡¯s when, as a
child, my opportunity to get allowance for the year, to have the opportunity
to wear all new clothing in welcoming the New Year and such, here are some
traditions and customs that you might be interested to know (or do it with
your entire family with fun):

BEFORE NEW YEAR's EVE

The celebration actually starts on New Year's Eve with the reunion dinner.
By New Year¡¯s Eve, you should have done the following:

Clean the entire home to get rid of all the things that are associated with
the old year.

Put away all brooms and brushes.

Pay all your debts.

Resolve differences with family members, friends, neighbors and business
associates.

Buy the following:

- red money envelopes

- oranges and/or tangerines

- circular candy tray

- flowers (especially plum blossom, peach blossom, water lily)

- a new set of clothes and shoes for children, preferably something red or
orange.

Get new dollar bills from the bank. Insert the new dollar bills into the red
envelopes. Now the red envelope is called a lee see or lucky money envelope.

(note: Very few modern families follow all the "cleaning" traditions.)

ON NEW YEAR¡¯s EVE:

Get together with close family members (not including married daughters and
their families) for the "reunion" dinner.

Pay respect to ancestors and household gods. Acknowledge the presence of
ancestors because they are responsible for the fortunes of future
generations.

Open every door and window in your home at midnight to let go of the old
year.

Put a fresh and big round Apple or Orange next to your children¡¯s pillows,
so they would sleep in peace and wakes up with the fresh aroma of the
fruits. 

ON NEW YEAR¡¯s DAY:

Decorate your home with symbols of good fortune. Here are some suggestions:

- Colors: Bright red (happiness); gold/orange (wealth & happiness).

- Fruits: Oranges and tangerines (good health & long life); tangerines with
leaves intact (long lasting relationships; fruitful and multiply as in
having children); persimmons (happiness and wealth).

- Circular candy tray (candy for sweet and circular for togetherness).

- Flowers: If flowers bloom on New Year¡¯s Day, it will be a prosperous
year.

- Red banners or couplets with New Year wishes and symbols of good fortune
in gold.

Here are some suggestions for food:

- Jai - a combination of food that represents good fortune. Jai comprises of
ginkgo nut, black moss, dried bean curd, bamboo shoots, vermicelli and
scallion.

- Fish and chicken represent prosperity. Always present the fish and chicken
as a whole. Do not cut them in pieces. The head, tail and feet (for chicken)
must be presented to symbolize completeness.

- Noodles represent longevity. Again, they should not be cut.

- Desserts include oranges, Chinese New Year cake (ni gao) and prosperous
cakes (they look like golden nuggets).

Wear all new clothing (from socks to shirts) to welcome the new year with a
clean start.

DO¡¯s & DON'Ts on NEW YEAR¡¯s DAY:

- Greet others with "Gung Hey Fat Choy" which means "Wishing You Prosperity
and Wealth".

- Give two lee see¡¯s to each child. Because happiness comes in two¡¯s, do
not just give one. This is your way of passing good luck to the next
generation. Business owners also givelee see¡¯s to employees and associates.

- Wear brand new clothes - preferably in red. Children should wear new
clothes and new shoes.

- Don¡¯t wash your hair.

- Don¡¯t sweep the floor.

- Don¡¯t greet people who are in mourning.

- Don¡¯t drop your chopsticks.

- Don¡¯t say the number ¡®four¡¯ (Chinese homonym for death) or mention
death.

- Don¡¯t borrow or lend money.

As you prepare for this important holiday, think of the changes you want to
make in your life ... perhaps spend more time with your family, reduce your
credit card debts or pursue a new interest. Gung Hey Fat Choy ... and Happy
New Year!

Below are a list of current planned event to Celebrate Chinese New Year in
Cleveland, Ohio:

- Saturday, January 21, 2012 ¨C Asia Plaza¡¯s Chinese New Year Celebration,
2999 Payne Avenue, Cleveland 44113. Click here for Chinese flyer
<http://ocagc.mdifilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2012-Asia-Plaza-Flyer-C
hinese.jpg> , click here for English flyer
<http://ocagc.mdifilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2012-Asia-Plaza-Flyer-E
nglish1.jpg> .

Starting from 10am till 5pm, with 14+ cultural booths/tables and 12
performances throughout.  Scheduled performances include:

Time Scheduled

Performers

10:30am ¨C 11

Kwan Family Lion Dance

11am ¨C 11:30pm

JACL Shojoji Dancers

11:30am ¨C 12pm

Daiko Icho Taiko Drummers

12pm ¨C 12:30pm

T¡¯shaka Brown Kung Fu School

12:30pm-1pm

Chinese Academy of Cleveland

1pm ¨C 1:30pm

Connie Zhang Chinese Cultural Dance

1:30pm ¨C 2pm

Chinese Music Group

2pm ¨C 2:30pm

CCCCA Cultural Performances

2:30pm-3pm

A-PoPhasis

3:pm-3:30pm

Phillippines Kali Martial Arts

3:30pm-4pm

Alison Jin Chinese Instrument

4pm-4:30pm

CPEA Cultural Performance

4:30pm ¨C 5pm

Westlake Cleveland Chinese School

- Saturday, January 21, 2012 ¨C Asian Town Center¡¯s Chinese New Year
Celebration,  3820 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44114

Performances and table display throughout the day

¡°YEAR OF THE DRAGON¡± CHINESE NEW YEAR SCHEDULE 2012

TIME: Ê±¼ä PERFORMANCE: ±íÑÝ
11:00 AM HIP HOP LION DANCE and  FIRE CRACKERS:  Îèª{ºÍ±¬Öñ
11:50 AM INTRODUCTION: º†½é
12:00 PM COLLECTION OF CHINESE TRADITIONAL DANCE AND MUSIC BY CCCCA ÖÐ‡ø‚÷½y
Îèµ¸¼°Òô˜·±íÑÝ: ¿ËÀï·òÌm®”´úÖÐ‡øÎÄ»¯…f•þ
12:30 PM ASIAN HIP HOP BY A-POPHASIS  ÐÂ³±½ÖÎè
1:00 PM GAME 1 ÓÎÏ·
1:30 PM MENTOR KARATE
2:00 PM CHINESE TRADITIONAL DANCE BY WESTLAKE CHINESE SCHOOL
2:30 PM ICHO DAIKO FEATURING OBERLIN TAIKO ¨C ÈÕ±¾¹Ä
3:00 PM CHINESE FOLK DANCE BY CPEA GREAT WALL ENRICHMENT CENTER
3:30 PM EATING CONTEST: ¸‚Ê³´óÙ
4:00 PM SINGING PERFORMANCE
4:10 PM KUNG FU DEMONSTRATION BY SHAOLIN INSTITUTE
4:40 PM URBAN ELEMENTS: ÐÂ³±½ÖÎè
5:00 PM THANK YOU AND CLOSING: ±ÕÄ»

- Saturday, January 28, 2012 ¨C Asian & Friends Cleveland New Year Banquet &
Lion Dance @ East 30th Street Cafe (inside of Asia Plaza, 2999 Payne Avenue)

Tickets (Advance up to 1/1/2012) $35 member, $40 all others. Regular Tickets
(1/1/2012 to 1/19/2012) $45/each, Late tickets (based on availability)
$55/each. More information atwww.afcleveland.org
<http://www.afcleveland.org/>   or email Cindy Yu
<mailto:cyubutterfly at gmail.com>  for information.

- Saturday, February 4, 2012 at CSU Student Center

Chinese Professional and Entrepreneur Assoc. (CPEA) Chinese New Year
Celebration

  _____  

Kwan Family Lion Dance Performances:

Kwan Family Lion Dance Schedule @
Li Wah Chinese Restaurant, 2999 Payne Avenue

Saturday, Jan 21 @ 10:30am

Sunday, Jan 22 @ 6:30pm

Monday, Jan 23 @ 11am

Saturday, Jan 28 @ 11am

Sunday, Jan 29 @ 6pm

Johnny Wu

216.539.4634

Dynamic Multicultural Branding 

Principal Brand Strategist

Sampson / Carnegie

Serious Brand Strategies

www.Smarterthinking.com

Producer/Director/Editor/Wire-Stunt

www.mdifilm.com

More reels at www.vimeo.com/mdifilm

Current Project: www.FaceBook.com/S4Superman

President

OCA-Cleveland Chapter

¡°Embracing the Hopes and Aspirations of Asian Pacific  Americans¡± 

OCA Image TV Magazine on TV20 & iTunes

www.ocagc.org

Co-Chair Executive Committee

Cleveland Asian Festival

www.ClevelandAsianFestival.org

Administrator

Cleveland IndieClub

www.clevelandindieclub.com

WVIZ/IdeaStream Community Advisory Board

St. Clair Superior Development Board Member

International Community Council Board Member

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