Holly Stephey & Master Randy K. Li & Year of the Dragon!

Gung hay fat choy!

Come join Holly Stephey as she talks to  Master Randy K. Li as we welcomein the 2012 Year of the Dragon.

This will be a fun show were we will talk about traditions and what the Year of the Dragon has in store for us all.

January 23 marks the start of the Lunar or Chinese New Year and traditionally celebrations are held for fifteen days, this year ending on February 6. This is the most celebrated holiday of the year for billions of people of Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese descent around the world. It is celebrated with parades, large family gatherings and festivals as a time when ancestors are remembered and honored and families give thanks for their blessings.

Get ready for the Year of the Dragon! With dragon parades and lion dances, clashing cymbals and banging drums, firecrackers and a plethora of traditional foods,

Chinese legend says the noise and dancing animals chase away evil spirits to ensure a lucky new year. Holiday traditions also call for visits to pay respect to one’s elders, passing out hong bao, red envelopes containing “lucky money” as gifts and feasting on symbolic dishes, including half-moon-shaped dumplings, long noodles, whole fish and glutinous rice cakes. Celebrations begin the first day of the new moon and end on the full moon 15 days later.

Chinese dragons are legendary creatures are typically portrayed as long, scaled, serpentine creatures with four legs. In Yin And Yang terminology, a dragon is yang and complements a Yin fenghuang ("Chinese phoenix").