The Year of the Tiger

It’s a time of family, friends and feasting. A time to clean house, pay debts and fill red envelopes with money. And for some, a time to ask the Gods for good luck.

Wednesday marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebration, year 4696 on the ancient Chinese calendar and also the Year of the Tiger. It begins at sunset on the day of the second new moon following the winter solstice, which means it falls somewhere between Jan. 21 and Feb. 19 on western calendars.

Festivities include parades featuring dragons, firecrackers, and drums and phrases like “Gung hay fat choy!” meaning “May prosperity be with you” in Cantonese and “Xin Nian Kuai Le!” which translates to “Happy New Year” in Mandarin.

“Chinese New Year in China is as big as Christmas is here. The whole year is built around it,” said Clayton Dube, education outreach director of the USC-UCLA Joint Center in East Asian Studies.

Tradition calls for giving the house a thorough cleaning, as it is considered bad luck for last year’s dust to remain in the house. Sweets are offered to the Kitchen God, which has been sitting on a shelf in the kitchen all year, before he departs to heaven to give his annual report on the family’s behavior. People stock up on staples, as virtually all stores will be closed for several days.

Popular foods eaten for New Year’s include fish, chicken, tangerines, oranges, long noodle and lotus seeds. People will visit friends and relatives, bringing sweets with them. Lai-see, lucky money, will be given by elders to younger members of the family in red envelopes.

More than 1.4 billion Chinese, Vietnamese and Koreans, whose cultures were influenced by China, observe the lunar new year around the world. In Los Angeles County, more than 480,000 people will likely celebrate, including about 60,000 in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

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Ways to Celebrate

* The 99th Annual Golden Dragon Lunar New Year Parade, featuring a 200-foot-long dragon and several lions, will begin at noon Jan. 31 in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, traveling along North Broadway and Cesar Chavez Boulevard. Information: (213) 617-0396.

* Banquet hosted by the San Fernando Valley Chinese Cultural Assn., 6 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Universal City Hilton, 555 Universal Terrace Parkway. Tickets are $40 each. Reservations: (818) 887-7292.

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Chinese Astrology

Unlike the western zodiac, which is based on a 12-month cycle, the Chinese Zodiac runs on a 12-year cycle, with each year represented by an animal. Our year of birth determines which animal sign we are born under, and thus, what characteristics we have and how this will effect our lives.

Legend has it that the years were named by Buddha, who invited all the animals for a feast before he left this world. Only 12 showed up, lead by the ox, who in the end, was overtaken by the quick rat. Buddha thus named the years after them in the order of their arrival.

Each animal year begins in accordance with Chinese New Year, which typically falls in late January or early February on the Western calendars.

Rat

Characteristics: clever, charming, quick-witted, sometimes devious

Suitable careers: politician, actor, engineer, businessman

Famous people: Thomas Hardy, Gene Kelly, Lauren Bacall, Buddy Holly

Years: 1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996

Ox

Characteristics: hard-working, observant, reliable, can be stubborn

Suitable careers: architect, banker, real estate agent, mechanic

Famous people: Handel, Walt Disney, Margaret Thatcher, Meryl Streep

Years: 1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997

Tiger

Characteristics: confident, enthusiastic, sensitive, sometimes impatient

Suitable careers: pilot, musician, politician, actor

Famous Tigers: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Marilyn Monroe, Groucho Marx, Beatrix Potter

Years: 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998

Rabbit

Characteristics: delicate, sociable, thoughtful, can be cunning

Suitable careers: diplomat, judge, therapist, teacher

Famous Rabbits: Michelanglo Buonarroti, Albert Einstein, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday

Years: 1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987

Dragon

Characteristics: dynamic, resourceful, confident, sometimes arrogant

Suitable careers: politician, salesperson, inventor, military officer

Famous people: Florence Nightingale, Martin Luther King Jr., J. Paul Getty, Pele

Years: 1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988

Snake

Characteristics: charming, intuitive, shrewd, can be possessive

Suitable careers: spiritual leader, scientist, investigator, surgeon

Famous people: Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Howard Hughes, John F. Kennedy

Years: 1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989

Horse

Characteristics: independent, trustworthy, productive, sometimes impatient

Suitable careers: publicist, translator, athlete, librarian

Famous people: Thomas Edison, Boris Yelstin, the Rev. Billy Graham, Mayor Richard Riordan

Years: 1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990

Sheep (or Goat)

Characteristics: artistic, creative, gentle, considerate, can be pessimistic

Suitable careers: writer, interior designer, artist, florist

Famous people: Jane Austen, Laurence Olivier, Buster Keaton, Boris Becker

Years: 1907, 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991

Monkey

Characteristics: energetic, fun-loving, quick-witted, can be indifferent

Suitable careers: engineer, jeweler, critic, stand-up comedian

Famous people: Leonardo da Vinci, Jimmy Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Marley

Years: 1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992

Rooster

Characteristics: observant, straightforward, resilient, sometimes bossy.

Suitable careers: detective, trouble shooter, dancer, opera singer

Famous people: Wagner, Katherine Hepburn, Eric Clapton, James Whitmore

Years: 1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993

Dog

Characteristics: faithful, honest, loyal, can be judgmental

Suitable careers: doctor, teacher, priest, police officer

Famous people: Sylvester Stallone, Norman Schwarzkopf, Madonna, President Bill Clinton

Years: 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994

Pig (or Boar)

Characteristics: tolerant, sincere, generous, sometimes superficial

Suitable careers: entertainer, artist, farmer, caterer

Famous people: Albert Schweitzer, Ronald Reagan, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg

Years: 1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995

THE GOLDEN DRAGON

A typical Chinese New Year parade features a lengthy dragon and several lions, who perform the lion dance. The dragon is manipulated by 21 people, holding up the 200-foot-long body with long poles. The lion involves two people, one who wears the elaborate head and another who portrays the body hidden by a decorated piece of material. Lion dancing involves the use of martial arts moves.

Sources: “The Complete Book of Chinese Horoscopes” by Lori Reid; “Happy New Year Around the World” by Lois S. Johnson; Jeff Chan, founder of Immortals Gung-Fu Lion Dancers; 1990 U.S. Census; Researched by STEPHANIE STASSEL/Los Angeles Times