This past Saturday, Feb. 10, marked the beginning of the Lunar New Year. Also known as the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, it is celebrated in China and in Chinese communities around the world. It corresponds with Seollal in Korea and Tet in Vietnam, and the 15-day celebration is one of the most important festivals of the year in East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora.

According to the Chinese zodiac, there is a 12-year cycle that links each year to an animal sign, making this year the Year of the Dragon. Each year is also tied to one of the five basic elements in Chinese cosmology: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. The Year of the Dragon 2024 corresponds to the element of wood, which means this is the Year of the Wood Dragon.

In an interview with MPR News’ Cathy Wurzer, Minneapolis Institute of Art curator Yang Liu says the dragon in Chinese culture is “very different from that in the Western culture. … this creature has suffused the Chinese culture with transcendent and majestic power.”

Liu explains the dragon served as a ruler of weather and the water, and is symbolic of heavenly power. What’s more, people born in the Year of the Dragon are said to possess particular traits. Xiaohuan Zhao, an associate professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Sydney, explains people born in the Year of the Dragon “tend to be ambitious, confident and charismatic. They possess an abundance of energy and enthusiasm while also displaying exceptional intelligence and power. They are naturally lucky and gifted, often accomplishing their endeavours with exceptional standards of excellence.”

Importantly, the 15-day Lunar New Year festival is fun. “One of the main goals is to put people in a celebratory mood,” says Jin Stone, a senior lecturer in Asian & Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota. Let’s celebrate with music.

So for today’s 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that relate to the significance of the Year of the Dragon?

Respond with your song ideas in the comments below.

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Songs Played
Fountains of Wayne – Red Dragon Tattoo
Otis Redding and Carla Thomas – Knock on Wood
Peter Paul and Mary – Puff, the Magic Dragon
Blitzen Trapper – Dragon's Song
The Beatles – Norwegian Wood