Happy year of the goat! Or is it the sheep? Or the ram? Well, it depends on whom you ask.
Lunar New Year celebrations, which begin on Feb. 19, will say goodbye to the Year of the Horse and usher in another animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.
The year 2015 is associated with the Mandarin word “yang.”
“That means any ruminant mountain animal with horns,” said Lenny Cheng, who works in the Brooklyn branch of the Chinese-American Planning Council.
For Asian American groups, interpreting “yang” — and translating it to English — yields varying results.
“We personally use ram, because we feel that it is right in the middle between sheep and goat,” Cheng said.
The animal of choice often depends on what part of Asia a person is from — communities from different regions of China have their own interpretations, while the Vietnamese generally have gone with goat and Koreans with ram.
The group Better Chinatown USA, which organizes a parade through Manhattan’s Chinatown and a firecracker ceremony in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, has settled on the Year of the Goat.
“It’s the translation – some people use goat, some sheep. We just decided, goat is more popular. No big reason,” said Steven Tin, Better Chinatown’s executive director.
Queens’ Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce, however, has been making plans to celebrate the Year of the Sheep.
Jing Wang, a cashier at GTW tea and flower shop on Manhattan’s Grand St., agrees with that interpretation — and she should know.
“I’m a sheep — it’s my year,” said Wang, who emigrated from Fujian province and was born in a “yang” year 23 years ago.
The paper new year decorations for sale at her shop include a mix of cuddly cartoon sheep, fierce looking rams and goats with red horns.
Ultimately, the ruminant of choice doesn’t really matter, festivity planners say.
“The most important thing is to celebrate the new year – the animal is just the flavor of the cake,” said Cheng, from the Chinese-American Planning Council.
