Lantern Festival and Full Snow Moon

Tonight is Yuan Xiao, the 15th and last day of the Chinese New Year Festival. Tonight is also the full moon. Yuan means "first" and xiao means "night" and that name indicates the first time that the full moon is seen in the New Year.

This festival's other name is the Lantern Festival, because on this night folks make or buy lanterns of all kinds: shaped like flowers, or boats, or birds; made of bamboo, silk or paper; decorated with paintings, embroidery, paper cuts, tassels, and fringe.

Everyone takes to the streets to display their lanterns. It’s like a carnival: Children dress in costumes and watch parades with lighted floats, fireworks displays, puppet shows, and dances.

This full moon is called the Snow Moon, but we haven't had any snow this winter (yet), and the temperatures are warm- our average high in the last two weeks was 55º, and our average low was 41º! That's not too unusual here, and we can count on another month of wet and cold in any case.

The full moon is my monthly time for action and release: I look again at the “seeds of intention” I planted 2 weeks ago at the new moon and decide on my next steps to take; I take those steps; then I release my expectations in order to clear space for new ideas and new intentions.

Agenda for today:
1. Altar:

It's time to discern what to put on my altar for the next month. (For my thoughts on altars see About Altars). I generally keep it simple and choose only things that speak to me and feed me, and reveal what I believe in. I ask, what quality of Spirit do I want to invoke? 

Today I add-

• a picture of a mountain, for stillness and meditation.
• a turquoise candle for thought and study.

Each month at the full moon I put a motto or quote on my altar, to ponder as a theme for the month. This month:

~ Rabindranath Tagore

2. Journal: 

February is a good month for introspection- perfect for reading, writing, prayer, contemplation of the deep questions of life, and listening for leadings and inspirations.

Review the intentions I set 2 weeks ago, at the new moon.

What personal qualities do I want to improve this month? 

What new skills might be useful? 

Do these goals all still seem vital? What are my next steps? 
What kinds of topics of study are of interest to me now?
What are some current events or issues I wonder about?

3. Mountain Pose Meditation:
Mountain Pose is the foundational pose for all standing yoga postures. It helps improve balance and inner calmness. It seems simple, but it’s important to learn how to do it correctly, so find out how here.

The image of the mountain represents meditation, and the resting of body, mind and spirit. When practicing the Mountain Pose I use this visualization:

Picture my favorite mountain- it’s shape, it’s peaks, the rocks, the trees, the undergrowth. 

Imagine that I am this mountain, rising from the surface of the earth; say, “I Am the Mountain.” Feel my splendid stability. I have reached the peak of upward movement, and in stillness I hold my place.

See time passing- day turns into night, the moon rises over me, gradually dawn comes again. The seasons change- snow covers me, rain strikes me, then sun bakes me. My surface changes, but the essence of the mountain remains the same.

4. Stillness and Study:

This month I have reduced my other commitments a bit so that I can spend a little extra time in study and meditation. I will use this time to absorb and integrate my daily experiences. When I build quiet into my daily routine, I honor the full rhythm of life- the yin time of stillness balances my yang actions.

Albert Einstein said, “Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.” I've found that simply studying the wisdom of others isn’t enough; I have to think through ideas myself, and seek out information that contradicts my views.

Being a mountain allows my ego to disappear for a bit, and all my studies, artwork, and adventures are transformed into something closer to wisdom.

This week I am starting with these topics of study:

• Compassion and caring practices
• Fascilitated Dialogue / victim mediation
• Teaching painting

5. Housework:
February is also a time of clearing away the excess to make room for growth. Clutter might give me the illusion that I have important things to do, but it adds one more layer of chaos and confusion to my life.

Now that I've gotten the mold in my house under control I can concentrate on clearing surfaces, sorting the stuff on my shelves, and donating things I no longer need. I take it one room at a time, and this week I will start in the bedroom:

• Clear out the closet, sort and re-arrange it.
• Re-file my lesson plans (the in-basket is overflowing!)
• Give away some more books.

6. Make tang yuan, sweet dumplings:

It is a tradition to eat these round sticky dumplings today to symbolize the full moon and also family togetherness. 

I used two different fillings- sweet bean paste (you can buy it ready to use at Asian Markets), and one made with black sesame seeds. They are delicious, but very rich, so only cook a few for each person, and freeze the rest to cook later.

Sweet rice flour and black sesame seeds

Ingredients:
Sesame filling

• 1/4 c. raw black sesame seeds
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• red bean paste (optional)

Dumplings

•  2 c. glutinous or sweet rice flour
• 3/4 c. cold water
• food color (optional)

Ginger syrup

• 2 c. water
• 2-inch knob of ginger-root
• 1/2 c. sugar 

Yield: 20 dumplings-

1- Toast the sesame seeds in a small skillet over low heat for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan and stirring continuously to keep the seeds from burning. They will begin to smell aromatic and they might start to pop. Grind seeds into a fine powder (a coffee grinder works well). 

2- Mix sesame powder with butter and sugar in a pot, and warm just until they form a thick paste. If the butter melts too much you might need to put the pot in the freezer for a few minutes. 

3- Form into 20 tiny balls and place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. You can also form balls of red bean paste now, if you want, or skip the sesame and just make the bean filling. Freeze balls for about 30 minutes.

4- Meanwhile, put the rice flour in a bowl and mix with a little water at a time until it holds together and is soft like play-doh. Knead together until smooth. (If it's too sticky, add more flour, and if it's too dry, add more water.) 

Divide the dough into 2 or 3 equal portions; leave one portion white and add a drop or two of food color to the others, if desired. Knead again until the color is even. Cover and set aside.

5- In a small pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Smash the ginger root with a mallet, add it to the small pot, and boil for 10-15 minutes on medium heat. Add the sugar to taste (about 1/2 cup) and boil for another 5 minutes. Remove the root, lower the heat, and simmer until the syrup is a bit thickened.

Black sesame seed balls (left) and dumplings (right).

6- Heat up a large pot of water to boiling. Divide and roll the dough into 20 round balls. Pat one into a flat disk. Place a sesame seed ball in the center, and gently pinch the dough around the ball to completely cover. (If the dough feels dry, dip your fingers in water before shaping it.) Keep dumplings covered until you get them all made.

Dumplings beginning to float to the top.

7- Carefully drop the dumplings into the large pot of boiling water (only cook as many as you plan to eat now - you can freeze the rest). Use a wooden spoon to nudge dumplings so they don’t stick on the bottom. Boil gently for about 5 minutes.

8- When the dumplings float to the top of the water, add 1 cup of cold water (this will keep the skins from splitting), and cook for another three minutes. 

Scoop them out with a sieve and divide them into small bowls. Add the ginger syrup and serve immediately.

5. Hang a lantern:
In China, the lantern is a symbol of eternal hope. I make a new lantern each year to hang on the front porch.

I used a yellow cellophane around the jar on the left, and white tissue
on the small jar in the center.

Supplies: A clear jar, tissue paper (optional), red paper (we used butcher paper), double stick tape, wire, gold cord

1. Choose a clear jar, big enough to hold a votive candle.

2. Cut a strip of yellow or white tissue paper to wrap around the jar and overlap just a bit (I used cellophane). Tape the strip where it overlaps. Or you can leave the jar clear.

3. Cut many 1-inch strips of red paper a bit longer than the height of the jar; you will need between 11 and 20 strips.

4. Put a small piece of double stick tape at the top and bottom of each strip and attach them one at a time to the rim and the bottom edge of the jar, overlapping each strip by about half.

5. Add a wire around the top rim if you want to hang it outside. Decorate with gold cord around the top.


6. Riddle guessing: 
It’s a custom at the Lantern Festival to have riddle-guessing contests; people copy out a puzzling riddle onto a paper lantern, and hang it at the door, with the promise of a reward to any who may succeed in unraveling it. 

Here are some of my favorite riddles:

• What always goes to bed with his shoes on? (A horse)

• What has feet but can't walk? (A yard stick)

• What has eyes but can't see? (A potato or a needle)

• What has hands but can't feel? (A clock) 

• What has ears but can't hear? (Corn) 

• What has teeth but can't chew? (A comb)

• Take off my skin - I won't cry, but you will! What am I? (An onion)

• There is an ancient invention still used in some parts of the world today that allows people to see through walls. What is it? (A window)

• What gets bigger the more you take away from it? (A hole)

• At night I come without being fetched. By day I am lost without being stolen. What am I? (A star)

• The more you have of it, the less you see. What is it? (Darkness)

• What must you keep after giving it to someone else? (A promise)

• What is lighter than a feather yet harder to hold? (Your breath) 

• If you have it, you want to share it. If you share it, you don't have it. What is it? (A secret.) 

• When you say my name I disappear. Who am I? (Silence)

• What is always coming, but never arrives? (Tomorrow)