"Horses are boring and gullible. Dragons are overrated, all show and no substance. Pigs are . . . well, pigs," my mom said, referring to the different zodiac animals that each occupy a slot in the 12-year lunar calendar cycle adopted by the Chinese and other Eastern cultures.
Starting on Jan. 29 and continuing for 15 days, people around the world, particularly those of East and Southeast Asian descent, will celebrate the Lunar New Year. This time, it’s the snake – emblazoned on decorations and slithering through parade routes in the form of paper, cloth or polyester – who will enjoy its turn as the focus of celebration alongside those who were born in its year, like the woman born Linda Wang in 1965, the Year of the Wood Snake.
