The Chinese in Hawaii celebrated Chinese New Year on Jan. 23 in Chinatown. The new year was marked by decorations, foods and celebrations as the Year of the Dragon began.

Traditionally, the new year is based on the Chinese zodiac which involves an old legend about a cat and a rat who entered a race, along with 11 other animals. The emperor declared that the first 12 animals to cross the finish line would have a year dedicated to them. The end of the legend says that the rat comes in first, followed by the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and boar. The cat in 13th place was forever jealous of the rat for getting a year dedicated to it. The Chinese believe that is why cats and rats do not get along to this day.

The year 2012 is the Year of Dragon. People born in the Year of the Dragon are energetic, warm-hearted and charismatic. They are also natural-born leaders. For Chinese people, the Year of the Dragon promises success and prosperity.

“The dragon is our ancestor and that is one of the reasons why the Year of the Dragon is important to the Chinese people. It is also a good year to bear sons,” said Tanny Tang, high school Mandarin teacher.

Chinese families celebrate the new year in various ways. One tradition is to eat dumplings and spring rolls. Dumplings look like money from ancient times which symbolize more money for the family. Some families put a coin in one dumpling and whoever picks that dumpling will be prosperous in the new year. Spring rolls look like golden nuggets when they are fried.

The Chinese New Year is a celebration that starts on New Year’s eve and continues for eight to 10 days.

“One popular tradition is giving red envelopes with money inside to the children. In my family, my auntie makes gao, Chinese mochi, for all of the children and my dad cooks jai, a vegetarian dish, for breakfast because our family doesn’t eat meat on New Year’s day,” said sophomore Tiffany Lau.