Tomorrow is the start of Lunar New Year, celebrated by billions of people around the world. I know very little about the holiday and celebration, though I have picked up a few things from teaching, as I have always taught a large number of Vietnamese-American kids.

This year is the Year of the Fire Horse, not to be confused with the usual Year of the Horse. According to a description I found online, the Fire Horse “symbolizes speed and freedom…[and is] is associated with dramatic, chaotic, and revolutionary changes, favoring bold, fearless, and proactive decisions over cautious ones.” With AI, global climate change, rising authoratarianism, and America’s obvious decline, I’m a bit wary of ‘dramatic, chaotic, and revolutionary changes.’ Oh well, we’ll see.

I happened to be born in the Chinese Year of the Pig. As an American, that sounds pretty awful, but I poked around a bit and discovered that it isn’t as bad as it sounds! See description below from www.chinesenewyear.net