Happy Chinese New Year!  February 3rd marks the official start of the year of the rabbit.  People say that the year of the rabbit will be an easy one where we can kick back and relax.  The year of the tiger (2010) is known as a very challenging year with lots of ups and downs. Chinese-American relations certainly had a rocky year so maybe with the year of the rabbit relations will be peaceful. Lu Xun was no fan of the new year superstitions.  He thought many of these ideas were holding back China to modernization.  This week's short story is his  祝福 (The New Year's Sacrifice).  Lu Xun recounts the tradition of 祝福 as he remembers it in his hometown while showing some of the ugly sides of superstitions.  Enjoy. We wish you a happy Chinese New Year and please continue to join us in 2011 for our weekly Learn Chinese through Stories postings. 鲁迅－祝福 Lu Xun's The New Year's Sacrifice