ISLAND EXCURSIONS
See, smell and taste the wonders of Chinese New Year

• Two celebrations on two weekends

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Gao, a sticky pudding shaped like wheels in various sizes, is found everywhere during Chinese New Year. Advertiser library photos Year of the Ram Applicable years: 2003, 1991, 1979, 1967, 1955, 1943, 1931, 1919 Character traits: Gentle and docile, sincere and kind-hearted; pacifist, never questions authority; fueled by compassion, admires nature's beauty; strives to create a secure, tranquil environment Compatible with: Rabbit, horse, boar Not compatible with: Ox Western counterpart: The sign of Cancer Notable Rams: Mel Gibson, Bill Gates, Charles Dickens, Pamela Anderson, Robert DeNiro, Mick Jagger, George Wallace, Mark Twain, Barbara Walters, Julia Roberts, Boris Yeltsin, Bruce Willis, Michelangelo, Malcolm Forbes, Julio Iglesias, John Wayne, Joni Mitchell, William Shatner, George Burns, John Denver, Mikhail Gorbachev, Benito Mussolini, Billy Idol, Joe Pesci

With festivities sprinkled throughout the community, including two celebrations (see box) preceding the Feb. 1 start of the lunar Year of the Ram, those eager to explore culture — the taste temptations, the rituals, the color, the must-have accouterments — are lucky. Now's the time to explore and participate.

Ten things you could do to welcome the Year of the Ram, which starts Feb. 1 and ends Jan. 21, 2004:

1. Watch a lion dance. Bring a camera and snap a photo. And have dollar bills ready; martial arts and physical culture clubs will perform lion dances at two separate Chinatown festivals, often amid bursting firecrackers to ward off evil spirits. A gift of a buck or two to the lion, which will "eat" it, means returning good luck to you while filling the coffers of the clubs to which the dancing youngsters belong.
2. Give and receive li see. Traditionally, money — coins or folded bills — is wrapped in ceremonial red paper bags available in Chinatown shops. They normally enhance luck and promote prosperity.
3. Eat jai and gao. The former is monk's food, the seasonal dish of choice, and it's a porridge-like stew with numerous variations, but basic ingredients include lotus seed, to signify the birth of many male offspring. The latter is a pudding, loaded with brown sugar and coconut, and sold in wheel-shapes of various sizes, commonly with a red date in the center.
4. Buy and display narcissus bulbs. Their simple elegance is a symbol of purity.
5. Indulge in Chinese cakes and sugar-coated confections. Mooncakes, almond cookies and preserved fruit such as coconut and pineapple, vegetables (squash, carrots, lotus roots) and nuts (peanuts, chestnuts), are abundant year-round but particularly popular during Chinese New Year.
6. Don a Year of the Ram T-shirt. It's particularly appropriate if you were born under the sign of the Ram.
7. Obtain a good-luck message with Chinese calligraphy. Gold or black characters, painted on red, are offered by numerous Chinese artists in Chinatown.
8. Go Chinese while in Chinatown. There are options for lunch and dinner, ranging from dim sum to traditional noodles, and during the street festivals, snack plates and bowls to consume while you roam.
9. Absorb the scents and sights of Chinatown. The blocks in and around Maunakea Street, King Street, Hotel Street, Kekaulike Mall and the corridors of the Chinese Cultural Plaza fronting River Street are a beehive of activity this time of year. Folks are shopping, snacking, kibitzing, purchasing tangerines and pomelo for good luck, crispy-skin roast pork, whole roast duck and chicken for the dinner table, and herbs to tide over the next cold season.
10. Lick a Year of the Ram stamp. Yet another in the series designed by Islander Clarence Lee, the Postal Service has been selling the new stamp since Wednesday; it's possible that there's been a run on them and your neighborhood post office is sold out, but additional supplies will be forthcoming.

The simple elegance of the narcissus represents purity.

"Chinatown Open House"

5 to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday

Chinese Cultural Plaza, Maunakea and Beretania streets

Free

533-3181

Featuring: Fireworks at 6:30 p.m. Friday only, along with lion dances; appearance by Narcissus Queen and court Friday only; entertainment and food booths both days; sponsored by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce

"A Night in Chinatown"

9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Jan. 25

Maunakea Street between King and Beretania streets

Free

595-6417

Featuring: Parade from 4:30 p.m., beginning from state Capitol on Richards Street, continuing on Hotel Street to River Street; with 60 units and 1,000 participants, including a 125-foot dragon; on-street lion dancing, food booths, entertainment; some street closures will be in effect; sponsored by Chinatown Merchants Association, City and County of Honolulu, Honolulu Chinese Jaycees