Happy Lunar New Year! Through the years I've offered that greeting in this blog and on Sunday mornings in one congregation where there were four children who had been adopted from China and whose parents wee conscientious about upholding their heritage. I was even coached in how to offer the greeting in Chinese.
It was always "Happy Chinese New Year" in the past, but I've learned that this is a highly significant festival in Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, and in the diaspora -- as much as a quarter of the world's population.
When we lived in Sudbury the Chinese association would hold an annual shindig in the large hall of St. Andrew's UC, my congregation. We had a commercial sized and equipped kitchen, which made food preparation relatively easy. In our modern building the offices, including my study, were off the open mezzanine above this hall, so I was aware of the decorations, hubbub, and fragrances of the popular event which attracted hundreds. My study was directly above the kitchen so the aromas were tantalizing.
It never occurred to me that this was a lunar festival, yet another cultural and spiritual connection to the phases of the moon. Both Judaism, with Pesach/Passover, and Christianity, with Holy Week/Easter literally look to the moon. Islam has its crescent moon symbol and it represents the guidance of God on the path through life.Even though Lunar New Year is now a largely secular holiday it includes cultural rituals that have roots in Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, as well as from ancient myths and folk traditions.
We live in a time of global urbanization where the vast majority of humans have little awareness of the night sky or the rhythms of the "heavens." The religions of the world, past and present, can point us toward the skies with a sense of awe and appreciation.
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