Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Chinese Lunar New Year in Second Life



Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

Buddha
 

          January is behind us and the New Year celebrations are behind us. Or, are they?  The Chinese Lunar New Year is soon going to be upon us and as my friends in both Second Life (SL) and Real Life (RL) tell me, it’s quite a shindig too.  (Truth be told, I’ve done a fair bit of Lunar New Year celebrating myself in RL.)     
          Some background first.  This is the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac.  Using the corresponding Wu Xing (Five Elements), this year’s element is water.  Check out the links if you’re not familiar with the concepts because they are different from the traditional Western zodiac which many of us are familiar with.  They give an interesting insight into Chinese culture and its traditional underpinnings. 

          My old friend, Perryn Peterson, also one of the most interesting people I’ve met in SL and who I think is singlehandedly trying to recreate every holiday and festival in RL in SL, is hosting a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration in the Mieville sim. 
          My regular readers, there are a few of you, will know that Perryn has recently hosted the Day of the Dead Celebration inworld followed by a Dickens Christmas.  

Oh, and by the way, if you’re looking for the New Year celebrations inworld this coming February 10th, the official date, then you’ll be out of luck because of a conflict with Perryn’s Mardi Gras celebration taking place at the same time (I still don’t know how he does it all.)  the Chinese Lunar New Year inworld will be celebrated from February 16th to 24th. (SL is nothing if not flexible.) 
           Here’s the program of events at Mieville:

新年好 Day 1 (Saturday 16th February)
12:00 PM SLT:  Parade!  Dress in Chinese costume and join us to open the Chinese New Year Festival in Mieville!

ALL WEEK:  There will be a mini-hunt for Lucky Red Packets! 
Reward of 2L per packet found!  Many are hidden!  Good luck!
 

新年好 Day 2 (Sunday, 17th February)
Cai Shen -- the God of Wealth's birthday and the birthday of all dogs!

10:00 AM SLT:  Bring your pet dog to Mieville for the Dogs Parade!
 

新年好 Day 3 (Monday, 18th February)
The return of the Kitchen God! 

We'll have a special celebration honoring this messenger to the Jade Emperor as he returns from Heaven.
6:00 PM SLT:  Meet for an evening of friendship, food and drink!
 

新年好 Day 4 (Tuesday, 19th February)
6:00 PM SLT:  Fireworks on the wharf!

A chance to explore the wonderful shops of Chinatown!


新年好 Day 5 (Wednesday, 20th February)
Everybody's Birthday (Renri)!

Today everybody gets a year older!
6:00 PM SLT:  Special Chinese birthday party!

 
新年好 Day 6 (Thursday, 21st February)
Since food is a great part of celebrating Chinese New Year, our Salon this evening will be devoted to discussing the customs and special foods eaten during the Chinese New Year festival.

Meet at 6:00 PM SLT.


新年好 Day 7 (Friday, 22nd February)
The day of Guan Yu, a famous Chinese general who is considered to be the Taoist God of War.

We'll have a fishing contest to honour this god!  Whoever is the fiercest "feesher" will win Lindens and lots of good luck!
Fishing!  Off the wharf in Chinatown!  9:00 PM SLT! 


新年好 Day 8 (Saturday, 23rd February)
Chinese New Year Weekly Theme Dance!

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM SLT.


新年好 Day 9 (Sunday, 24th February)
Lantern Festival!

There'll be FIREWORKS!
4:00 PM SLT:  You are invited to parade with lanterns as we celebrate the Chinese version of Valentine's Day and close the festival.
TURN IN your Lucky Red Packets! 

Reward of 2L per packet found! 

          As I hope you will see there is a full program of events around the Chinese Lunar New Year and I believe makes the wait all the more worthwhile! 
          I want to thank Perryn for forwarding to me the details of his Chinese Lunar New Year and taking the time to answer my questions.

          Below, I’ve included links to pictures from the site of the Mieville Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations but because a party is always more fun than pictures (especially when I’m the photographer) please visit it and see for yourselves!    
          And if you’re looking for something to do while waiting for the SL Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations then check out Perryn’s Mardi Gras celebrations from February 9th to 12th in the Mieville sim.   
          As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.
I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life
please click here.

Photo No. 1 Perryn Peterson


Photo No. 3 Hong Bin House

Photo No. 4 Chinatown Harbor Area

Photo No. 5 Chinese Junk

Photo No. 6 Lobster Shack

Photo No. 7 Local Inhabitant

Photo No. 8 Tree

Photo No. 9 Merchants’ Market

Photo No. 10 Shop

 

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