Wikipedia defines the Lunar New Year as the beginning of a calendar year whose months are moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar. The Lunar New Year as a celebration is observed by numerous cultures. It is featured in the Chinese calendar of the East Asian cultural sphere the Hindu-Buddhist calendars of South and Southeast Asia, the Islamic calendar and the Jewish calendar in the Middle East, and is also celebrated by the indigenous Nisga’a people of Canada. History.com further comments that the Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations of the year among East and Southeast Asian cultures, including Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean communities, among others. The New Year celebration is usually celebrated for multiple days—not just one day as in the Gregorian calendar’s New Year. In 2023, Lunar New Year begins on January 22. China’s Lunar New Year is known as the Spring Festival or Chūnjié in Mandarin, while Koreans call it Seollal and Vietnamese refer to it as Tết. Tied to the lunar calendar, the holiday began as a time for feasting and to honor household and heavenly deities, as well as ancestors. The New Year typically begins with the first new moon that occurs between the end of January and spans the first 15 days of the first month of the lunar calendar—until the full moon arrives. This class will be taught by poet Jim Moreno on January 22, the start of the Lunar New Year of 2023. Beginning and seasoned poets will experience a multicultural poetic dance that resonates to the tune of both Wikipedia and History.com definitions. The goal, of course, is to create abundant room for Lunar New Year poets to expand cultural horizons and consciousness. Participants in the class are welcomed to the Container of respect and safety that are the foundation of Moreno’s classes. Chinese poet Lou You, Southern Song Dynasty (1127 – 1279) wrote, In early morning, a north wind brings snow; It’s a blessing from Heaven arriving in time. I haven’t yet raised my half cup of Tusu wine to toast the New Year; Busy writing peach wood charms by lamplight. Contemporary Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Bá Trạc wrote, New Year’s Eve / Seven thousand people beating tin walls in lieu of firecrackers / Sounds of joy mixed with sorrow / Has the nightmare passed yet / When will spring come? What comes after Tết / where will we go… Twelve-year-old Korean poet Amy Shin writes, Before breakfast, every member of the family must respectively worship the ancestors. We set a ritual table that has the ancestral tablet and ritual food on top, Offerings of fresh and colourful herbs, fish, and fruit. To worship the ancestors, we bow, give offerings, and say prayers. We ask the Gods that we may live long and be healthy throughout the year. Moreno has stated that our nation is not a melting pot; it’s a mosaic of multiple cultures. In other words, that makes the opposite of racism, the polarity of truth, that one culture can heal the sickness in another culture, e.g. the Ukranians as models for our country being in unity and moving away from polarity. Perhaps Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and poet’s poem, "Call Me By My True Name," expresses the essence of the Lunar New Year when he writes, Don’t say that I will depart tomorrow—even today I am still arriving. Look deeply: every second I am arriving to be a bud on a Spring branch, to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings, learning to sing in my new nest, to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower, to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone. I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry, to fear and to hope. These and other poets will serve as a harbinger for how the Lunar New Year may introduce you to a happy and creative 2023. Sign up and pay the fee. Jim will then e-mail the class syllabus to you after Writers Ink forwards your e-mail address to him the day before the class on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023. You will receive your class syllabus with a bibliography. You will also receive the Zoom ID link to this class when you receive your syllabus. Join Mr. Moreno for this class which resonates with belonging, dignity and respect for all cultures and colors of skin. You will be emailed the Zoom link 24 hours before the start of class. Be sure to check your Spam/Junk folders just in case! If you sign up less than 24 hours before the start of the class, please email Kristen at programs@sandiegowriters.org for your link.
