It’s The Year of the Rabbit… and the Cat
Unlike the other Chinese zodiac, this Lunar New Year features two zodiacs depending on which Asian culture.
Art by Arthur Dennyson Hamdani // THE UNDERGROUND
2023 is the year of the Rabbit. Or at least that’s what the Chinese Zodiac we know indicates.
This is my second Lunar New Year away from home. Without any plans to see lion and dragon dances in Chinatown, I feel obligated to celebrate the new year in some form as a Chinese-Indonesian. In my father’s hometown of Makassar, located on the island of Sulawesi, we would celebrate by visiting external family members’ houses around the city.
Everybody would wear new red clothes. The young, unmarried cousins would repeatedly gesture the fist and palm salute to the parents and grandparents while saying 恭喜发财! (gōngxǐ fācái: loosely translates to ‘wishing you prosperity in the coming year!’). And, of course, the joy of getting 红包 (hóngbāo: red packets filled with money given by older relatives, friends and married couples). But, from every Chinese New Year gathering I’ve been to, it was always the food that defined the celebration.
From whole roasted pork and whole steamed fish to mountains of fried rice and mandarin fruits, my family made sure no one left the dinner table hungry. The older family members would continue to eat and share updates on their lives while the toddlers ran around in the living room or sat snugly on the sofa before falling asleep.
I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum when celebrating Chinese New Year, but this year, after I hopped on a group video call with my relatives from my father’s side, I realized I didn’t quite know why we celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Why we celebrate Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year is celebrated on different days each year because ancient China followed the lunar-solar calendar, which uses the moon cycle as a measurement of time. Hence, Lunar New Year is to be celebrated on the year’s first new moon. In this year’s case, rabbits are believed to symbolize the moon.
In Chinese tradition, a full moon symbolizes prosperity, peace and reunion. As a result, other festivals include some form of paying respect to the moon, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival.
The food eaten on Chinese New Year possesses a myriad of symbolism and meanings that revolve around fortune and good luck. For instance, fish commonly appears as the word 鱼 (yú), which sounds like the word for abundance and wishes. Hence, fish is believed to symbolize wishes for abundance (‘年年有余‘ (nián nián yǒu yú): may you have an abundance year after year).
The Myths of The Chinese Zodiac
Besides the foods, the myth of the Chinese Zodiac has also been a more recognized aspect of the Lunar New Year. Everyone has, to some extent, come across references to the 12 Chinese Zodiacs. Whether from random red papers found in Asian businesses during this time or from a Jackie Chan movie about a man who travels the world in search of the bronze Zodiac artifacts, the transition from one animal to the next is the most recognizable aspect of the Lunar New Year.
Photo via Pinterest
Although unverifiable, several myths and legends point towards stories about the Jade Emperor creating a race that resulted in the 12 animals we know today.
The Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
One story involves the Jade Emperor’s wish to select 12 animals to be his guards. Another tells of how the Emperor created the race for his birthday, and another story simply says the race was meant to develop a measurement of time. Whichever myth the readers choose to believe in, the order of the Zodiac remains the same.
Each animal possesses unique characteristics and personalities that shape the way each Zodiac is perceived in Chinese tradition. For example, the Rat symbolizes intelligence, quick-wit and adaptability. As the first animal in the Zodiac cycle, the Rat is believed to welcome new beginnings. These beliefs vary from one Asian country to the next, especially this year of the Rabbit.
Cultural Differences
While the rest of the world may perceive this year to be the year of the Rabbit, Vietnam has a different belief.
In Vietnam, the Rabbit zodiac is replaced with a Cat zodiac. Multiple stories explain the Cat as a zodiac instead of a Rabbit. One legend tells how the Cat still finds its way to the race and successfully finishes becoming one of the 12 Zodiacs instead of the Rabbit.
However, two other stories explain the zodiac of the cat. One theory believes that the replacement of the rabbit with the cat is due to the absence of rabbits in Vietnam. In the country’s warmer climate, rats are serious pests that impact farmers’ crops. Since cats are known to be the natural enemy of rats, Vietnamese farmers believe that cats bring prosperous harvests and chase away evil spirits. Hence, the rabbit is replaced with the cat.
The other stems from simply being lost in translation. The ancient Chinese word for rabbit is pronounced “mao,” which influenced the Vietnamese word “meo,” which means cat. Due to language miscommunication and the prominent role of cats in Vietnamese agriculture, Vietnam continues to celebrate the year of the Cat.
Despite not being considered a zodiac in other traditions outside of Vietnam, Chinese traditions believed cats to be companions for the noble and pest control for the lower class. Japanese culture views cats as lucky and bringers of good fortune. In fact, the famous “Chinese waving cat” usually placed on the cashier counters of East Asian stores and restaurants is actually Japanese, called maneki-neko (literal translation: “beckoning cat”). The waving hand symbolizes waving in fortune and waving away evil spirits.
Art by Arthur Dennyson Hamdani // THE UNDERGROUND
Similar to what the West knows as daily horoscopes in astrology, some believe in their Zodiac years as a yearly horoscope. Other than representing years, each animal is also thought to influence people’s fortune, luck, compatibility, marriage and personality.
TheRabbit Zodiac symbolizes peace, cautiousness and self-protection. Similar to their real-life nature, rabbits have hypersensitive hearing and vision. Whenever there is danger, they are quick to escape for safety.
In the case of the cat, its role in protecting the Vietnamese farmers’ harvests forms its cultural symbol of protection and prosperity. According to a Reuters article, some Vietnamese pride the power of the cat for being closely related to the tiger zodiac. One person from the article mentions that cats are seen as majestic and “resembles a little tiger.”
Whatever zodiac you believe this year celebrates, the year of the Rabbit and the Cat welcomes a new beginning and an excellent year for all.
