Year of the Pig
Feb 13th, 2007 by Michael Max
Temples in Taiwan are freckled everywhere. They can be small as a phone booth, or sprawl a whole city block. They are populated with statues, smoke and prayers. Old people while away the afternoon, students pray for passing grades, prayer beads are mumbled over and shined by hands in constant motion.
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All temples have their particular pantheon of protectors. Their particular mojo. The usual assortment of those who dispense Mercy or Medicine. The protectors of fishermen and businessmen, mothers and children. The human psyche turned inside-out, and lit with florescent.
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I especially miss them at the Chinese New Year, when they buzz with the sense of celebration that always marks the transition from old to new. When old teachers write calligraphic wishes on the street. And every one turns out in new red clothes trimmed in red.
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The Chinese New Year. I was warned that as a foreigner I was in for a couple weeks of loneliness. That Chinese families are tight and at the new year, they cocoon into themselves. Best to lay in a stack of DVD’s to while away the hours. But, it never worked out that way for me. Chinese New Year always showed up with invitations to meals and gatherings. I somehow got invited in. It is only now, here in the States, an ocean away from the turning of new lunar year, that I feel a loneliness for the splash of life that blooms unendingly over there.
The year of the Pig begins on Saturday with the new moon. It is a good year to focus on flourishing and prosperity.
新年快樂， 身體健康， 萬事如意！