Celebrating the Lunar New Year

We join many cultures and peoples across the globe who are ringing in the Lunar New Year around the world this week. Year of the Dragon as 2012 is in the zodiac, holds special significance. The dragon portrays a legendary beast that comes from a combination of many animals (snake, carp, tiger). This year is considered especially lucky, as it will be the Year of the Black Dragon, an event that occurs only every 60 years. Although the Year of the Dragon occurs every twelve years, only every fifth occurrence is the Black Dragon. Many predict a prosperous year for those born in the year of the Dragon (those born in 1940, ’64, ’88,’ ’12), Rat (’36, 60,’84,’08), Monkey (’32, ’56, ’80, ’04) and Rooster (’33, ’57, ’81, ’05).

Cultures from Indonesia to the Philippines, China to Vietnam, Korea to Tibet, all celebrate the lunar new year. I have included three videos to illustrate fun and light-hearted way in which youth celebrate this annual holiday.

This first one from Singapore gives the viewer a unique view of the blend of contemporary eastern and western culture.

This second video depicts a traditional children’s song from China celebrating the New Year.

Finally, we turn to Korea where “Seollal” or “Gujeong,” is Korea’s most celebrated holiday. To mark the beginning of this year of good fortune, Korea has a four-day long weekend. This is traditionally done to allow Koreans a full day before and after the holiday to travel to their hometowns and meet with family.

“Charye” a traditional ritual performed early in the day, consist of an offering of food sacrificed for ancestors and family members respectfully bow twice. “Sebae” offers the opportunity for younger people to pay their respects to their elder relatives by performing one deep bow and saying “Sae hae bok mani badusaeyo” which translates to “Receive many new year blessings.” They are then rewarded with pocket money and words of wisdom. This video playfully shows the expectation of these teens in their traditional hanbok.

A final note, this photo poignantly expresses deep desire for reconciliation of the Korean people. This photo, along with several others can be found on msnbc.com. 

Go Byung-sam, a North Korean refugee, right, and his wife Suh Jung-hoon bow to show respect to their ancestors in North Korea in front of a barbed wire fence as they celebrate the Lunar New Year at the Imjingak Pavilion, in Paju, South Korea, on Jan. 23.

Flying on a Wing and a Prayer

In a recent announcement to their frequent fliers, Alaska Airline noted that the prayer cards that had been a benchmark of customer service for thirty years would be discontinued.

For those who have not traveled Alaskan Air, it has been a trademark for the airline to provide the prayer cards on meal trays. The practice has had its detractors from the beginning, but also has received praise for its’ low-key positive message.

Last fall the company decided to stop distributing the cards because, airline spokesperson Bobbie Egan said, “We believe it's the right thing to do in order to respect the diverse religious beliefs and cultural attitudes of all our customers and employees.”

 “…[W]e've heard from many of you who believe religion is inappropriate on an airplane, and some are offended when we hand out the cards. Religious beliefs are deeply personal and sharing them with others is an individual choice.”

“It always seemed odd to me,” said George Hobica of the consumer travel website Airfarewatchdog.com. “Flying on a wing and prayer? I don’t think those two go together.”

Travel humor aside, Alaskan Airlines responded to a legitimate sensitivity to the ever-changing cultural attitudes of the flying public. However, in other places in the world, such a practice would not be seen as offensive. Whether one is in an airport in Chennai, Bangkok, Tegucigalpa, or Manila, religious paraphernalia is not uncommon. I suspect most “Americans” traveling on Alaskan Air would not be offended by such religious encounters in these cities, but would simply identify the religious reference with the culture. So, is the culture in the U.S. becoming areligious? What do you think?