W

e’re now three weeks into 2012. Have you followed through your New Year resolutions or have they already been thwarted? Worry not, you have another chance to set things right and to even put a dose of good luck into your new life, as the Chinese New Year is coming.

In the old days in China, where the lunar calendar originated, New Year was the mark of spring, when everything recovered after a long harsh winter. It was the beginning of another cycle and naturally people wanted to have a good year.

To have a lucky year, some people pasted couplets on their walls wishing for good health, prosperity and harmony. Some wore red clothing, while a few went the extra mile — and wearing 100 percent red.

Reunion dinners with family members involve luck-bringing dishes: tofu cooked to a brownish color to indicate a gold bar, fish to bring over last year’s surpluses to this year and orange to welcome good luck.

Every married couple hands out red envelopes containing a certain amount of money to young ones, parents and grandparents to wish them luck. Street lion dancers are invited to houses and offices to drum up energy and bring fortune.

Despite receiving a mountain of good luck charms, those still unsure of their luck went to fortune-tellers for insight.

This year, the water dragon is replacing the metal rabbit in influencing the world.

The Chinese dragon, unlike Western dragons that capture princesses and need to be slain, is a respected, powerful, celestial being capable of great things and is the bringer of prosperity and wealth.

The water dragon is an even a better combination. The water element tames the hot-headed dragon, turning it into a softer being that listens to the plight of others.

But even dragons can’t please everyone, so there are lucky and unlucky zodiac signs. Snake-zodiac people will have a good year.

“The lucky stars will be more than enough to prevent the disastrous ones from doing any major harm to you,” one fortuneteller writes.

Dog-zodiac people are said to be facing a challenging year as “the lucky stars are too weak to support you, thus you have to depend very much on yourself to survive this rough year”.

Although some Chinese are really into these predictions, most people read them for fun. More important than believing the predictions is to take the life lessons they offer.

As Confucius said: “If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of one and imitate them and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.”

If the prediction is good, it boosts confidence. It means that there is no time to waste in leaping forward.

If the prediction is bad, it means that this is a time to be careful and take calculated risks. If the prediction warns about poor health, it’s time to adopt a healthy lifestyle. If you’re said to experience a shaky love life, it means that it is time to pay more attention to your loved ones.

No matter what the prediction says, the solutions are reasonable: work diligently, be careful, respect others and pay attention to your loved ones.

The predictions are sort of gentle reminders, not judgments.

So, no matter what kind of road is waiting ahead of you, everyone just has to get through it.

If we have a troublesome year, don’t lose hope as the year of the water dragon will eventually be replaced by other sign the year after. Just don’t miss the embedded life lessons, which are like fertilizer for the “gardens” of our souls.

And when we do have a good year, don’t be cocky. Take the opportunity to help others. That way, every year will be our lucky year and the predictions and good luck charms will cheer us along the way.

Whatever the prediction, we just have to put our best foot forward. Happy Lunar New Year.

— Mariani Dewi