(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Tuesday is the first day of the Year of the Tiger in the Lunar New Year.
WBBM Newsradio’s Nancy Harty spoke with a north suburban woman who educates people about the Lunar New Year and its traditions.
Yvonne Wolf, an intercultural consultant and former Chinese teacher who lives in Glenview, likens the Lunar New Year season to Christmas.
Of the 12 animals on the Chinese calendar, this year celebrates the bold but patient Tiger.
“Not like the ox, which is sort of a slow and lumbering animal,” she said. “The tiger waits and it watches for its opportunity — and then it pounces! It’s gives its all.”
Some people refer to the celebration as the Lunar New Year, rather than the Chinese New Year. She said this reflects a more neutral term that does away political connotations.
“People just think of China and Chinese as being Communist China, but it isn’t. The Chinese culture is far greater than Chinese borders.”
The New Year season is roughly two weeks long and marked with parades, gatherings with family and friends and gifts, including red envelopes of cash.
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