Year of the Fire Horse The Lunar New Year Party at Fountain House

 

Fountain House Celebrates the Lunar New Year in Style!: The Research and Communications Unit Join Together to Enjoy the Holiday!

 

By Elizabeth Levine

Did you know we are in the Year of the Fire Horse? Do you know what that might mean for you? According to FH Communications member, Barry this is the year to push through and experience transformation. He explained, “Last Year was the Year of the Snake and the shedding of your skin- the behaviors or routines that no longer serve you well. But this year, when we combine the Year of the Horse, with the fire element, we are faced with the opportunity for intense passion and rapid transformations and living your dreams.”

This is one of the many interesting facts I learned about the Lunar Year when on Friday, February 20^th, the Communications and Research Units threw a joint Lunar New Year party at Fountain House. Staff and members feasted on Chinese delicacies- rice crackers, lychees, Chinese hard candies in a myriad of flavors. The tables were adorned in red and gold tablecloths and the red paper plates had dragons in their designs. We played Lunar New Year jeopardy with three columns 1. History 2. Customs 3. Cultural Symbols and Decorations

As a member of the Communications Unit I am proud to report that the Communications team, comprised of members like Safi, Elizabeth, Noni and others, triumphed over the Research Unit in this fun but competitive round of Jeopardy. But both teams learned interesting facts about the Chinese New Year,

              For example, did you know that firecrackers are used for the Lunar New Year to ward off evil spirits? That the Peony, my favorite flower, is actually the Chinese flower of prosperity]. Or did you know that the Chinese avoid the colors Black and White during the Lunar New Year to avoid bad luck? Red envelopes with coins are dispersed for good luck for the Chinese New Year, which is also known as the Spring Festival. After today’s blizzard, I think the entire FH community is ready for Spring.

I found myself seated next to Lawrence Applebaum and Saverio Penza, a FH Gallery artist renowned for his handmade ceramics on display at the FH Gallery, his photographs, which often appear in the Fountain Pen, and his help with layout and design of the Fountain Times. He told me “I was blessed to find Fountain House.” Many FH members, including myself, concur with this sentiment! Festive members from both units who enjoyed the party and the Chinese treats. Connor, our Communications archivist, and Matt from the Research Unit, helped with the decorations-two beautiful red papier-mache dragon heads

While Matt constructed the dragons, it was Noni from Communications who adorned the cardboard figures with beautiful red fabric, creating the perfect décor for our Lunar New Year Party. Many participants came dressed in red in honor of the holiday.

Many members and staff carried the spirit of the Lunar New Year Party into their weekend. Noelle from the Communications Unit found herself drawn to Chinatown, where she enjoyed watching senior citizens play board games and practice Tai Chi in groups. “There was such a sense of community. I was thinking of Mae and her energy as I watched people interact.” Since one of the FH goals/principles is to reduce social isolation for members living with mental illness, what better way to create community than by throwing a party, making decorations, combining units for cross-socialization, and learning more about a holiday that we as Westerners might not have known much about?

Like all FH parties, I left with great enthusiasm and relief to know that the Year of the Snake is behind us and that the Year of the Fire Horse has officially begun! Maybe it is because I am the Year of the Dragon, but the combination of Fire (from the four elements) with the Year of the Horse, seemed especially fortuitous.

For example, The Year of the Fire Horse raises some profound questions for introspection. What are your dreams or intentions for this upcoming year What is your intense passion? What do you need to live your dreams and “push through” to make sure these dreams are realized? For me, as I retire this month after 40 years in the non-profit sector, first in public health and then as a college professor, this is a year of incredible change and adjustment. But I believe it is change for the better. Now that I am not working full-time at a job I hated, I can spend more time at Fountain House, become more involved with the Gallery and Studio, learn to make floral arrangements, soap, and candles in the Home and Garden Unit and devote myself exclusively to publishing my novel, “All That Remains”, which I have been working on for the past five years. Through a generous Fountain House educational scholarship, I worked with Alexander Scott Hess, a Gotham Writers' Workshop-published author, to review my manuscript and guide me through the long, difficult process of submitting my manuscript to small LGBTQ+ independent presses, with the hope of finding a literary agent. Many is the day I want to throw my hands up in the air and say it is too difficult, I am too old, people don’t read books anymore, the publishing industry is changing so rapidly, I can’t keep up,  and give up on my dreams to publish my fiction for others to read. As a published poet, this shift to writing fiction poses new artistic challenges. Perhaps I am shedding my skin as only a poet at the end of the Year of the Snake, and undergoing a “rapid transformation” into the kingdom of fiction. The one thing I can say for sure is that I approach this year with intense passion and the desire to become more involved with the myriad programs offered by Fountain House, including the Silver Center.