‘Less desirable’: behind lunar new year superstitions of a year of the snake
‘Less desirable’: behind lunar new year superstitions of a year of the snake
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Some say it’s not the time to make life decisions, but others are countering the bad luck – or leaving those beliefs behind. At Asiastar Fantasy Inc, a San Francisco gift shop that specializes in Chinese cultural trinkets and décor, customers can choose from a wide variety of red envelopes or pluck a miniature lion dance costume replica from shelves bursting with curios to celebrate the lunar new year. Most animals from the Chinese zodiac are well represented in the gift shop except the one that officially symbolizes 2025: the snake.
![[woman wearing pink jacket and brown pants stands in shop]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/26c76fa3275f6b304d14a481381077773353de12/0_0_4032_3024/master/4032.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“People just don’t like the snake,” said Nancy Yu Law, Asiastar Fantasy’s owner, about the reptile’s negative reputation. When it came time to purchase inventory for her Chinatown shop, Yu Law, 52, stocked limited items emblazoned with images of the snake.
![[two people hold up tray of snacks and red fireworks]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ce61fa88dd3ca26ef87e5466f4d6911d6412f9e4/0_0_1141_861/master/1141.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“In Chinese culture, you want to bring a dragon home. You will bring home a tiger or a horse,” she said. “But you will never want to bring a snake home.”. This year, lunar new year – beginning on 29 January – ushers in the year of the snake, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. For many in Asian countries and their diasporas, the zodiac shapes not only new year traditions, but also major life decisions.
Believers say the zodiac animal assigned to the birth year can determine a person’s personality and romantic compatibility. The zodiac is often used as a cultural bellwether to life’s biggest questions: will 2025 be my year? Is this the year to get married or start a family?.
