Chinese Group Celebrates a Year for Peace

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, we can all stop worrying about Saddam Hussein, the roller coaster stock market and presidential impeachment.

It is the Year of the Rabbit, and 1999 promises to be marked by calm diplomacy, peace and prosperity.

And if, as the Chinese, you consider this year to be 4697, you can also stop fretting over the Y2K bug.

Although the calm cotton-tail doesn’t take over for the tumultuous tiger until Feb. 16, on Saturday afternoon about 250 people ushered in the new year with traditional Chinese dancing and music, food and art-work.

The Ventura County Chinese-American Assn. hosted the event, held at the Carnegie Art Museum. The group of 200 area families organizes the annual festival to introduce Chinese culture to the larger community, master of ceremonies Christopher Loh said.

The Year of the Rabbit, Tu in Chinese, is the fourth of the 12 years in the ancient astrological cycle.

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“What would be a better symbol than the rabbit for peace and prosperity?” said Loh, referring to the gentle animal and its ability to multiply.

Those born in rabbit years this century--1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975 and 1987--are said to be peace-loving and polite. Although they can seem cold and aloof, “rabbits” are eloquent and witty.

“They never fight,” Stella Ling said. “They’re a little bit bashful--but swift.”

The lion was also highlighted at Saturday’s new year’s celebration.

Accompanied by the beat of a drum and cymbals, male members of the association’s Kung Fu Club donned masks and brightly colored costumes to portray lions in a traditional dance for prosperity.

Other dances featured bright polka-dotted umbrellas, swinging swords and lanterns.

Margaret Lin, 15, of Camarillo was one of three girls who performed the “Banquet Dance” using clinking cups, twirling plates and chopsticks. She also takes kung fu lessons and speaks Chinese and Taiwanese.

“I just enjoy learning about my culture,” she said.

Lion dancer Robert Syto is a fourth-year student at UCLA but returns to Camarillo every week for the association’s activities. Although he was born in the United States and considers himself “very American,” he said being a part of the group is a way to recognize his father’s heritage.

“It’s the only Chinese thing I do,” Syto said. “It’s like a cultural tie.”

And to celebrate his mother’s Filipino roots, he said, “I eat the food.”

Traditional Chinese foods at Saturday’s celebration included a new year’s cake made from rice flour and coconut milk.

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The museum’s gallery showcased Asian art, as well as Chinese “chops,” the personal seals used by individuals. Local artists were on hand to demonstrate the traditional medium of brush painting, calligraphy and chop carving.

The Chinese-American association’s largest event of the year, its “Festival of Cultural Arts,” is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Camarillo Community Center.