100 years of giant bunnies

I was thinking about how similar Chinese New Year is with Christmas. Everyone gets a week off, people exchange gifts, and families gather to overeat. But as my mother-in-law put fish eggs with scallions, stewed pig’s knuckles, pickled jelly fish, and fried chicken feet on the table, that thought quickly scampered away.

Happy New Year, by the way. February 3 marked year 100, and the year of the rabbit. That means it’s been 100 years since there was a Chinese emperor, and for some reason rabbits are important. I think it’s because it marks a whole new season of marketing cartoon bunnies. It probably also means in about three months there are going to be a lot of unwanted pet rabbits. I think it’s my 13th Chinese New Year as an expat in Taiwan. And while it’s a lot of fun, a lot of it I just don’t get.

Lantern Festival, for instance, is this day during Chinese New Year when lots of people display lanterns and the rest of us stand in line to see them. These are not your ordinary lanterns you use for an evening walk to the outhouse, these lanterns look more like floats in the Macy’s Parade. This year, appropriately, they’ll all look like giant rabbits. Some of them are fun, but after you’ve seen a dozen or so bunnies the thrill is pretty much gone and I’m ready to go home and watch TV. My wife tells me that I become bored so quickly because Lantern Festival was not part of my childhood, like making handprint turkeys or getting pillowcases full of candy while dressed as a zombie. She’s right, and that’s probably why a lot of the Chinese holidays don’t make sense to me. I just don’t have the history for them.

But this is also why they are really fun. I’m completely free of the guilt and weight of tradition. You know what that is. Something like, “It just wouldn’t be Christmas if we didn’t make those terrible cookies no one has ever liked.” Or, “We have to invite Uncle Larry. Even if he sits alone smelling funny, ‘tis the season.” Instead, of awkward commitments and overworking, I get a week of unmitigated rest. Which is great, but leads to both the best and worst part of the holiday.

Taiwan is about the size of Maryland, but four times as many people. China is much more so. When all Chinese get a week off, everywhere gets real busy. Every road, park, shopping center and bathroom is overflowing as more and more people try to enter. However, this gets back to one of the best points. Since every place is so crowded there is absolutely no reason to try to go anywhere or do anything – even see giant lighted bunnies. If you are going to sit in your car and not move, you might as well just sit on your sofa and not move. As I said, unencumbered laziness takes over.

So, Shin Nyan Kuai Le, spring is just around the corner, I’ve got about 30 old science fiction movies to watch, and mama just cooked up some sea slug. Cheers!

Nathan Lindberg