The rats go home

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- As usual, hotelier Peter L. Ng and his team of Filipino-Chinese businessmen based in Baguio hosted the fellowship dinner for local and national news correspondents in this year’s Chinese Lunar Spring Festival.

As expected, tasty food of Chinese gastronomy was served, another pleasant way of greeting the year of the white metal rat of 2020, aside from other means where the Chinese New Year festival lasts for 15 days from January 25 to February 8.

What is most awaited by the audience in events such as the Chinese Lunar New Year is the presentation of the Chinese Zodiac and horoscope by Feng Shui doyens who, in one participant’s thinking, are not really experts as described, because what they present are mostly common sense.

What caught my senses in this year’s fellowship was the Feng Shui expert’s statement that in this year 2020, it is not wise to lend out money because in the Year of the Rat, there is very slim chance to get it back.

Reservations about the statement floated above the dining tables because whether it was the Year of the Rat or another year, money loaned out to people does not return easily as how it was borrowed.

The animal rat in 2020 presents other amusing forecasts and advices. The Chinese Zodiac says that during the year; destiny for one is controlled as long as plenty of hard work is put in it. I can only say, of course.

The Zodiac adds, “Success and progress in life are assured because of one’s charisma and pleasant disposition”, and that if one is not careful, financial savings will not be profitable.

Then the rat person will have good flow of money from jobs and projects if one cuts down expenses and tries to save. All is common sense as well as an advice, of course.

Concerning one’s health, the Chinese Zodiac says, one has to be very much careful with mental health that can improve with spirituality and humanitarianism. Relatively, it further says that visiting religious places and involving oneself with charitable work and spending time with family members will improve the same.

It also advises that rat people should maintain mental health and reduce stress by avoiding unnecessary arguments and by relaxing. Proper diet and sound sleep are important in maintaining physical and mental health. Of course.

Chinese horoscope says that love partnership is not encouraged this year. Then contradicts its forecast that by stating that the months of March, June, and November are favorable for love and relationships.

Also expect the months of April, July and October to be difficult, but the months of March, September and November will be enjoyable.

Rat people are those born in 1912, 1924, 1936 or every 12 years thereafter, until this year. Celebrating their birth during the Spring Festival Period is one week-long holiday that puts pressure on the transportation system in the People's Republic of China.

It aggravates problems in China's inter-city transport systems as shown by a railway system that cannot sufficiently move passengers, of which thousands are unable to reach their destinations in time for the Spring Festival celebrations. It is because, locations not serviced by rail rely on buses for transportation.

While there are other factors responsible for the absence of family members in the celebrations, the Spring Festival travel season is the main reason. It is a period of travel in China with an extremely high traffic load around the time of the Chinese New Year.

In 2016, it was estimated that the number of passengers traveling home reached almost three billion. That was recorded as the largest annual human migration in the world.

One contributing factor is that most Chinese travel home to reunite with their families during Chinese Lunar Year in a reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve. Since new economic opportunities developed in the late 70’s in places far from people's hometowns, massive migration of workers from rural to urban areas was observed.

The number of Chinese migrant workers was estimated at 200 million in 2000, and that many of them return to their hometowns during the Spring Festival holiday.

Another influence is the reform in Chinese education that resulted to the increase in the number of university students who study outside their hometowns. In 2006, it was estimated that around seven million university students were among those who traveled home. During the Spring Festival celebrations, the rats go home.