Happy Year of the Fire Rooster!

In Chinese lunar calendar year 2017 is a year of the Fire Rooster. It begins on January 28, 2017 and ends on February 15, 2018. 

Rooster is one of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. Chinese Buddhists tell the story of a feast given by the Buddha. They believe that rooster was the tenth animal to arrive at the feast.

A probably much older story talks about the legendary Jade Emperor who wished to select twelve animals as his guards. He sent an Immortal down to Earth with a message that whichever animal came first through the Heavenly Gate his rank will be the highest. And so, twelve animals rushed to serve the Jade Emperor and the rooster arrived right after the monkey as the tenth in a raw. 

In Chinese astrology zodiac signs are combined with the Taoist theory of Five Elements. Each animal sign appears every twelve years, but only every sixty years in each of its aspects. Metal, water, wood, fire, and earth determine a special quality of each animal. The current cycle is dominated by the fire element, thus the Fire Rooster. Celebrate as much as you can! The Rooster will be back in twelve years, but the next Fire Rooster will appear in 2077!

The Chinese believe that both, the zodiac signs and the elements affect destiny and personality of a person born under them. The quality of the year to come also depends on this combination. 

Roosters are believed to be hardworking, courageous, and very resourceful. They thrive in the company of others and enjoy to be in the center of attention. People born in the year of the Fire Rooster are considered to have a strong sense of duty and responsibility, and are trustworthy. They make good public servants. 

Interestingly, the rooster years are considered unlucky for the people born in the year of a rooster. Destiny of everybody else in the rooster year depends on their own birth year and how their personal zodiac animal interacts with the rooster. These predictions are often very complex and involve an astrologer or geomancer who would make proper calculations and create individual horoscopes. 

In Chinese astrology rooster is a very lucky sign that is associated with punctuality, competitiveness, bravery, and prosperity. 

In an ancient commentary to the Book of Songs dating back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) rooster had five virtues: literature, military prowess, courage, benevolence, and trustworthiness. These virtues will determine the quality of the year to come. The fire element adds a little urgency to the mix. Fire destroys the old, creates the new. It brings warmth and illumination (light), energy and clarity.

2017 will be a year of creativity and prosperity. With the inauguration of a new president, America will restore its military prowess and trustworthiness. People that have been forgotten or neglected by the previous administrations (ex. the Veterans) will experience a new wave of benevolence. 

If you want to succeed in 2017, you have to be diligent, courageous, and inventive. Like a rooster, you will have to wake up early and do your chores. Your prosperity will not come overnight, but your work will bring fruit that you will eventually be able to enjoy.

Wishing everyone Happy Chinese New Year

and a very prosperous Year of the Fire Rooster!

Dominique


恭喜發財

By Dominique Allmon

 

Dominique Allmon©2017

La Galette des Rois Or The Kings' Cake

Galette des Roi, known in English as the King Cake or the Kings' Cake, is a famous French dessert traditionally prepared on the Twelfth Night (January 5th) or the Christian holiday of Epiphany (January 6th) to celebrate the visit of three Wise Men (the Magi or Kings) to the newly born Baby Jesus.

The King Cake tradition began some three hundred years ago with a rather simple sugar-covered bread, but most probably has its roots in the Roman feast of Saturnalia. A single broad bean (la fève) was inserted before baking. The lucky person who found the bean in his or her slice of cake would become a Bean King or Queen and would reign over the feast. The reign would end at midnight before Epiphany.

With time, king cake recipes became more sophisticated. Around 1870 bakers replaced the broad bean with a trinket called la fève like the bean it replaced.  The trinket usually was a small figurine representing Baby Jesus, a King, or the Wise Men. The season for the cake would last from the Twelfth Night till the end of the Carnival on Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras.

The cake was usually cut into as many portions as guests, plus one for the unexpected visitor, to show generosity, charity and benevolence in the best Christian tradition. That extra slice was called a share of God, or a share of Virgin Mary. 

There are many versions of the cake, depending on the country or the region where the cake is baked. Two versions are popular in France today: one that uses puff pastry and frangipane (almond pastry cream) and another that is made out of brioche-like dough and is topped with colorful candied fruit and sugar. Pastry shops usually sell the king cake with a paper crown for the person who finds the trinket.

Eastern or Orthodox Churches celebrate the birth of Jesus on January 6th. I some parts of Europe (Poland, for example) Epiphany is also the last day people enjoy the Christmas tree. All the lights and decorations are taken down the next day and the trees are tossed away. The magic of Christmas may be gone, but there are at least a few more weeks to enjoy during the Carnival.

Dominique Allmon

Image source here