We Wish You a Happy Year of the Rabbit!

The OpenInfra Foundation would like to wish the Chinese community members and everyone celebrating, a Happy Spring Festival, and a prosperous Year of the Rabbit!

In 2022, the OpenInfra Chinese community has grown immensely. With numerous volunteers and a large base of Open Infrastructure organizations, the Chinese community has remained one of the largest OpenStack and Kata communities in the world.

In August 2022, the Chinese community gathered for its annual OpenInfra Days China. OpenInfra Days China is an annual event to gather technical experts and industry leaders from the global community, as well as local Chinese active open source infrastructure technology companies, to share their outlook on the development and exploration path of global cutting-edge infrastructure technologies! Even with a long history of collaboration with Segment Fault and CSDN, this was the first year they collaborated with major Chinese open source communities such as InfoQ, Kaiyuan She (Open Source Society) and Open Source China. A big thank you to our lovely Chinese community volunteer team for helping organize the event. Learn more about the state of OpenInfra China in the 2022 OpenInfra Annual Report.

Join us in learning a bit about the Chinese New Year and how you can join the celebrations!

Traditional Blessing

金虎辞岁，玉兔纳福。

祝诸位新春大吉，万事胜意！

阖家幸福，平安康健；

工作顺利，大展宏图；

学业进步，蟾宫折桂；

花开富贵，门迎喜乐！

Bidding farewell to the Golden Tiger, the Jade Rabbit has come with auspicious signs.

We wish everyone a Very Lucky New Year with everything going as wished!

We wish you bliss in family life, with everyone safe and wholesome;

We wish you advancement in your career, so that your incredible capabilities can shine and take wings!

We wish you progress in study, winning top scores in all examinations;

And may you increase in wealth, health, and happiness.

Rabbit In History

What was the place of the rabbit in politics?

It was indispensable to rituals central to the polity; even though in ancient records, the rabbit was not officially listed as one of the Five Offerings (horse, oxen, pig, chicken and lamb). Yet, horses raised in military standards were such critical properties to guaranteeing the state’s war-waging capabilities that it would be unwise to squander them for sacrificial rituals. Thus, rabbits – which were similar to horses in terms of agility and speed – became the perfect substitutes for horses.

There were famed cases of the rabbit being likened to a horse.

The First Emperor of Qin （秦始皇）– also the ruler that founded the imperial governing system in China– owned seven Great Rides (七骏). One of them was “White Rabbit” (白兔). If there was any doubt why it was a name of auspicious meanings, names of the others would give you the answer: they were variously called “Chasing Wind (追风)”, “Lightning Run (奔电)”, “Flying Wing(飞翮)”, “Catching Sun’s Shadow (蹑景)”, “Magic Bird(神凫)”… all indicating astounding speed.
Perhaps the most famous horse in Chinese history – “Red Rabbit” (赤兔). It was said that it could traverse a thousand miles in a single day, wading rivers and overcoming mountains as if it was running on flat grounds. It not only represented the ultimate caliber achieved by a military companion; it also encapsulated the highest moral understanding and strongest bonds between an animal and a human. When Guan Yu (关羽)– Red Rabbit’s master and also one of the most loyal, capable warriors in Chinese traditions – died, the horse refused to eat and went away with the master.

Distinct Flavors of the New Year

Have you heard of “Nian Wei” (年味)? It means “flavor” of Nian, the New Year. People use the term to refer to either the feelings, vibe and atmosphere of celebrating New Year or, the set of unique dishes that they make to mark the occasion with special auspicious meanings. Let’s delve a bit deeper into the culinary culture of New Year!

While there are dishes regarded as essential on the New Year menu across all of China, the vast geography – and the diverse regional folklore and customs – give rise to cuisines specific to the region. In the 2019 “Nian Wei Map” released by a food rating app, the North loves meatballs and Jiao Zi (饺子, dumplings) the most, while the Cantonese in the southern tip favors Poon choi, (盆菜, meaning “big bowl feast”). Poon choi consists of varied ingredients such as pork, beef, chicken, duck, abalone, prawn, crab, mushroom, fishballs, squid, dried shrimp, and more – placed into a huge basin and arranged into level-based patterns. The southerners also like making desserts called “Nian Gao” (年糕, the New Year Cake). As for the Eastern region, the signature dish is Shanghai’s Si-xi-kao-fu (四喜烤麸, “Four Lucky Ingredients Kao-fu”) is made up of four Fao-fu cake, Shiitake Mushroom (香菇), black Chinese fungus (黑木耳), Daylily Flower (金针菜), peanuts (花生米), bamboo shoots(笋). The western region prefers spiced, salty bacon meat.

For more information on traditional Chinese food, check out https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-food/chinese-new-year-food.htm.