Chinese/Lunar New Year
It's time to move onto our next celebration - and unlike everyone else, I'm not talking about Valentine's Day!
This February is an even busier month than usual, with Jack Benny's birthday, Valentine's Day, President's Day, and the subject of today's editorial, Chinese New Year, all falling within days of one another.
Unlike our own New Year celebrations which take place between 31st December and 1st January, the Chinese New Year is never on a fixed date, as it is based on the lunar calendar. This year Chinese New Year falls on the 1st February with the rising of the second new moon (crescent moon) after the December solstice.
The festivities are still celebrated the world over though, and it is one of the most colorful and exuberant events, lasting around two weeks ending on the 16th February, which will see a full moon.
Families gather together for a dinner on New Year's Eve, and clean their houses to sweep away any bad fortune on New Year's Day.
The Chinese Zodiac moves in a twelve year repeating cycle, and each year is represented by one of twelve animals. Each year the animal changes, and for 2022, it's the Year of the Tiger.
You probably already know that the search feature on the RUSC website is one of my favorite features, so I thought I'd do a search for any shows with 'TIGER' in the title or show description, and was pretty surprised to find 29!!! Click on the link and type tiger in the description contains to be taken to them or use the power search above on the left. It's an amazing array of shows.
The story of the animals has been passed from generation to generation from ancient times. Legend has it that the Jade Emperor ordered that animals were to become part of the Chinese calendar - and that the 12 who arrived first would be the chosen ones.
At the time, the cat and the rat were supposedly good friends. When they heard the news, the cat said to the rat "We should arrive early to sign up, but I usually sleep late."
The rat promised to wake his pal up so they could go together, but because he was so excited, forgot and left for the journey alone. On the way, the rat bumped into the tiger, ox, horse and other animals who could all travel much faster than him.
However, the rat was very cunning, and convinced the ox to carry him on his back - on the condition that he sang to keep spirits high throughout the long journey.
The ox arrived first, but the sneaky rat slipped ahead and became the first lucky animal - and when the cat finally arrived, the selection was over - which is why the cat hates the rat and will always try to chase and kill him!
There are several series with a Chinese influence on RUSC, such as the detective series, Charlie Chan, the thriller Shadow of Fu Manchu, the juvenile show Chandu The Magician, and a special international feature depicting the celebration of the Chinese New Year called The Magic Key of RCA.
Happy listening my friends,
P.S. Coming up soon is Presidents Day! Why not listen to the RUSC Presidents Radio Station, for a non-stop selection of shows about our past US Presidents. Some of these old time radio shows are engaging historical stories and some are classic good fun - but they're all very entertaining.