According to the Chinese lunar calendar, 19 February 2015 marked the beginning of the Year of the Goat. With celebrations roaring in East Asia, Buddhist communities in the West are joining in to mark the auspicious occasion.
Vietnamese Buddhist Temple, Biloxi, Mississippi. From WLOX News
Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in California is holding an ongoing celebration at their mountain monastery, which began on 19 February and will continue until 1 March. Celebrating the New Year with a pilgrimage to the temple, the Buddhist community paid their respects before dawn, lining up much earlier than the official opening times of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. “We had more than 400 people lined up to get when we opened the gates at 5 a.m. [sic],” said the temple’s director, Miao Hsi (San Gabriel Valley Tribune). Incense was lit around the grounds as the visitors, mostly clad in red, filed into the temple. After taking three steps, they bowed and prayed to the Buddha for health and prosperity in the coming year. Performances at the temple included martial arts and lion dances, for luck and good fortune. Red envelopes containing money were offered to the lions in accordance with tradition.
“It’s an opportunity for our family to get together and celebrate,” stated Walnut councilwoman Mary Su about Chinese New Year. “The whole family stayed up until midnight, so we could start the new year together.” “I think my favorite thing is the food,” shared 23-year-old visitor Cory Lai. “But I also like the red envelopes full of money they gave us growing up. I’d get almost $100.”
At the Vietnamese Buddhist Temple in Biloxi, Mississippi, the New Year celebrations were one of their biggest annual events. Ceremonial dancer Charlie Tran, who attended the celebrations, commented, “This helps bring the community together and basically enlightens the whole community and also for the younger generations to actually know what's going on about heritage.” (WLOX News)
Up north in Vancouver, Canada, this was the first time for Dharma Drum Vancouver Center (DDVC) to celebrate Chinese New Year, which they did on 21 February. A member of the international Chan Buddhist organization Dharma Drum, the center hosted a variety of activities, such as a lion dance, drumming, lantern-making, and calligraphy, as well as demonstrations of the different forms of Chan meditation for people to try out. The center’s director, Venerable Chang Wu, explained that the festivities would end in time for prayers and to offer blessings to the world, in light of the suffering that has occurred over the past year.
Lion dance in Amsterdam. From romyclick.com
In Europe, celebrations took place with gusto at Fo Guang Shan He Hua Temple (aka the Zeedijk Temple) in Amsterdam, which is the largest temple in Europe and built in the style of a Chinese palace. Special activities included lion dances, fireworks on Dam Square, traditional Chinese cuisine, calligraphy, and tea ceremonies, as well as blessing ceremonies on Chinese New Year’s Eve and Day.