Gong Xi Fa CaiI wish all my Chinese readers a pleasant Year of the Dog which starts today.
I am a Dog myself, so I do appreciate the significance.
The year of the Yang (+) Dog teaches the lessons of watchfulness, defense of the weak and fair play. International justice will be the order of the year. Causes, protests and the righting of wrongs define Dog years.
Right on. Let's see some fair play and a few meaningful protests.
And I'll start with the fact that Tuesday is the start of another new year, the Islamic year 1427, and another holiday. What I want to know is why tomorrow isn't a day off in lieu of today, a Sunday. I suspect that tomorrow half the workers and school children in Jakarta will be at home with their families. Our Kid will be here and I'll be in another deep and meaningless discussion with my boss, who is Chinese.
Is that fair? In the good old days of the Megawati presidency, we would have had a long weekend. SBY seems to prefer work.
I also wish to protest on behalf of our former pembantu (maid) who, with her family, is now sheltering in our house, leaks and all, because she has been flooded out of hers. Again.
Every culture has its rituals, which are often called superstitions by non-members of that particular group. Of course, this merely demonstrates that there isn't a Universal Truth.
So I won't pour scorn on what goes on in preparation for Chinese New Year which is indeed a series of celebrations that involve a number of rituals. The first ritual observed in the celebration is spring-cleaning, which is giving a refreshing change to the home by making it clean. This is accompanied by worshipping the kitchen god, paying homage to the ancestors and merrymaking with the near and dear ones.
Another ritual, perhaps only here in Indonesia, is to pray that it rains on New Year's Eve, presumably to wash away the previous year's sins. It's fortunate, therefore, that here Chinese New Year occurs in the rainy season, every year.
And it really bucketed down last night.
So, have a good year my Chinese friends.
But do spare a thought for our pembantu, and others like her who are less fortunate. Remember that the Dog year and those under its influence are protectors of morals and defenders of the weak.
