Ameristar Welcomes the Year of the Snake in Black Hawk, Colorado

For the second year in a row 

Terry and I enjoyed welcoming in 

the Chinese or Lunar New Year,

the Year of the Snake, 4711,

at the Ameristar in Black Hawk, Colorado.

Ameristar, Black Hawk, Colorado

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ameristar_Black_Hawk.JPG

蛇

The snake is the sixth animal

in the 12-year cycle of animals

in the Chinese Zodiac or

The Shēngxiào (Chinese: 生肖). 

The Chinese Zodiac is widely used 

in such East Asian countries 

as Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac

A legend relates that the order 

of the twelve animals 

in the Chinese Zodiac 

was determined by 

a race across a wide river.

The snake was not a good swimmer, 

so it hitched a ride on the hoof of a horse.

  

Just as the horse was about to cross the finish line, 

the snake jumped out, 

scared the horse, 

and came in sixth,

ahead of the horse 

that was now in seventh place.

Daoist (Taoist) Symbols Carved in Stone: 

Yin-Yang and Animals of the Chinese Zodiac. 

Qingyanggong temple, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daoist-symbols_Qingyanggong_Chengdu.jpg

According to the Chinese Zodiac,

the personality of a person

is influenced by the animal sign

ruling at that person's time of birth.

Snakes are considered intelligent,

but somewhat unscrupulous

in the

symbol system of China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_%28zodiac%29

http://images.chinahighlights.com/travelguide1/culture/chinesezodiacsigns/snake.jpg

People born in a Year of the Snake 

are intuitive, private, and reticent.

They possess wisdom and intelligence, 

and they are great thinkers.

They are also materialistic

and want to accumulate symbols of status.

Their lucky numbers are 2, 8, and 9.

Their lucky colors are black, pale yellow, and red.

Their birth years include:

1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965,

1977, 1989, 2011, and 2013.

The next Year of the Snake will be in 2025

http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/snake.asp

Terry and I attended a Chinese New Year Banquet 

in the Ameristar's Summit Ballroom.

The menu included traditional dishes 

such as pork, fish, longevity noodles, 

and mandarin oranges.

After dinner guests enjoyed

a Lion Dance presented by

Colorado Asian Cultural Heritage Center's

Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe.

Lion's Head

Preparing for the Dance

Lion Dance

 

As guests departed they received 

a traditional gift of a red envelope

containing an even number of dollars.

Terry and I stopped for a picture

with our host, Nam.

                             

Of the possible choices, 

$8, $88, or $888,

I picked $8.00!

Maybe we'll have better luck next year!

The Ameristar was decorated for the occasion,

with traditional symbols of good luck 

scattered about the casino.

Ameristar presented a second Lion Dance 

for guests on the casino floor.

The Lion Dancers Checked Out 

the Equipment Carefully Before the Dance.

The festive evening ended well

for one lucky blogger!

Royal Flush!

To see the Winners of the 2012 

World Lion Dance Championships 

~ Hong Teik, Malaysia ~

 check out this video
suggested to me by BIKBIK and RORO!

To hear Canadian Celine Dion and 

Chinese Song Zuying singing 

the Jasmine Flower (Mo Li Hua 茉莉花) 

in CHINESE on China's Central Television's 

Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) Grand Gala

check out this video.

新年快樂！

Happy New Year!