Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. In China, it is known as “Spring Festival,” the literal translation of the Chinese name  (Pinyin: Ch?n Jié), since the spring season in Chinese calendar starts with lichun, the first solar term in a Chinese calendar year. It marks the end of the winter season, analogous to the Western carnival. The festival begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese:  pinyin: Zh?ng Yuè) in the traditional Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year’s Eve, a day where Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner, is known as Chú X?  or “Eve of the Passing Year.” Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the “Lunar New Year”.
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and also in Chinatowns elsewhere. Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the lunar new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors. These include Korean (Seollal), Bhutanese (Losar), and Vietnamese cultures.
Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of “good fortune” or “happiness”, “wealth”, and “longevity”. On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes. The Chinese New Year tradition is to reconcile, forget all grudges and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.
Although the Chinese calendar traditionally does not use continuously numbered years, outside China its years are often numbered from the reign of the Yellow Emperor. But at least three different years numbered 1 are now used by various scholars, making the year beginning in AD 2012 the “Chinese Year” 4710, 4709, or 4649.

Chinatown, Bangkok

The Dragon is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar, and the only animal that is legendary. The Year of the Dragons associated with the earthly branch symbol.

Traditional Dragon attributes and associations 
Zodiac: Location 5th
Ruling hours: 7am-9am
Direction: East-southeast
Motto: “I Reign”
Season and month: dry, january
Fixed element: Water
Stem: Positive
Lunar Month Dates: April 5 – May 4
Birthstone: Ruby
Colors: Red
Roughly equivalent western sign: Aries
Polarity: Yang
Food: Wheat, poultry

T?t Nguyên ?án, more commonly known by its shortened name T?t or “Vietnamese Lunar New Year”, is the most important and popular holiday and festival in Vietnam. It is the Vietnamese New Year marking the arrival of spring based on the Chinese calendar, a lunisolar calendar. The name T?t Nguyên ?án is Sino-Vietnamese for Feast of the First Morning, derived from the Hán nôm characters.
T?t is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year, though exceptions arise due to the one-hour time difference between Hanoi and Beijing resulting in the alternate calculation of the new moon. It takes place from the first day of the first month of the Lunar calendar (around late January or early February) until at least the third day. Many Vietnamese prepare for T?t by cooking special holiday foods and cleaning the house. There are a lot of customs practiced during T?t, such as visiting a person’s house on the first day of the New Year (xông nhà), ancestral worshipping, wishing New Year’s greetings, giving lucky money to children and elderly people, and opening a shop.
T?t is also an occasion for pilgrims and family reunions. During T?t, Vietnamese visit their relatives and temples, forgetting about the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year. They consider T?t to be the first day of spring and the festival is often called H?i xuân (spring festival).

First day
The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. Many people, especially Buddhists, abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure longevity for them. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year’s Day, so all food to be consumed is cooked the days before. On this day, it is considered bad luck to clean.
Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time to honor one’s elders and families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended families, usually their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.
For Buddhists, the first day is also the birthday of Maitreya Bodhisattva (better known as the more familiar Budai Luohan), the Buddha-to-be. People also abstain from killing animals.
Some families may invite a lion dance troupe as a symbolic ritual to usher in the Chinese New Year as well as to evict bad spirits from the premises. Members of the family who are married also give red envelopes containing cash to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers. Business managers also give bonuses through red envelopes to employees for good luck and wealth.
While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have banned them due to concerns over fire hazards, which have resulted in increased number of fires around New Years and challenged municipal fire departments’ work capacity. For this reason, various city governments (e.g., Hong Kong, and Beijing, for a number of years) issued bans over fireworks and firecrackers in certain premises of the city. As a substitute, large-scale fireworks have been launched by governments in such cities as Hong Kong.

A reunion dinner is held on New Year’s Eve where members of the family gather for the celebration. The venue will usually be in or near the home of the most senior member of the family. The New Year’s Eve dinner is very sumptuous and traditionally includes chicken and fish. In some areas, fish (simplified Chinese: traditional Chinese: pinyin: yú) is included, but not eaten completely (and the remainder is stored overnight), as the Chinese phrase “may there be surpluses every year” ( pinyin: nián nián y?u yú) sounds the same as “may there be fish every year.”
In mainland China, many families will banter whilst watching the CCTV New Year’s Gala in the hours before midnight.
Red packets for the immediate family are sometimes distributed during the reunion dinner. These packets often contain money in certain numbers that reflect good luck and honorability. Several foods are consumed to usher in wealth, happiness, and good fortune. Several of the Chinese food names are homophones for words that also mean good things.

Red Envelopes

Traditionally, Red envelopes or red packets (Cantonese: lai sze or lai see) (??, ?? or ??); (Mandarin: ‘hóng b?o’ (?); Hokkien: ‘ang pow’ (POJ: âng-pau); Hakka: ‘fung bao’; are passed out during the Chinese New Year’s celebrations, from married couples or the elderly to unmarried juniors. It is also common for adults or young couples to give red packets to children. Red packets are also known as ??/ (Ya Sui Qian, which was evolved from ???/?, literally, the money used to suppress or put down the evil spirit ) during this period.[20]
Red packets almost always contain money, usually varying from a couple of dollars to several hundred. Per custom, the amount of money in the red packets should be of even numbers, as odd numbers are associated with cash given during funerals (??: Bai Jin). The number 8 is considered lucky (for its homophone for “wealth”), and $8 is commonly found in the red envelopes in the US. The number six (?, liù) is also very lucky as it sounds like ‘smooth’ (?, liú), in the sense of having a smooth year. Sometimes chocolate coins are found in the red packets.
Odd and even numbers are determined by the first digit, rather than the last. Thirty and fifty, for example, are odd numbers, and are thus appropriate as funeral cash gifts. However, it is common and quite acceptable to have cash gifts in a red packet using a single bank note – with ten or fifty yuan bills used frequently.
The act of requesting for red packets is normally called (Mandarin): ???, ???. (Cantonese): ???. A married person would not turn down such a request as it would mean that he or she would be “out of luck” in the new year.
The Japanese has a similar tradition of giving money during the New Year called Otoshidama.

As with all cultures, Chinese New Year traditions incorporate elements that are symbolic of deeper meaning. One common example of Chinese New Year symbolism is the red diamond-shaped fú characters (Chinese: ?, Cantonese and Hakka: Fook, literally “blessings, happiness”), which are displayed on the entrances of Chinese homes. This sign is usually seen hanging upside down, since the Chinese word ? “upside down”, is homophonous or nearly homophonous with ? “arrive” in all varieties of Chinese. Therefore, it symbolizes the arrival of luck, happiness, and prosperity.
Red is the predominant colour used in New Year celebrations. Red is the emblem of joy, and this colour also symbolizes virtue, truth and sincerity. On the Chinese opera stage, a painted red face usually denotes a sacred or loyal personage and sometimes a great emperor. Candies, cakes, decorations and many things associated with the New Year and its ceremonies are coloured red. The sound of the Chinese word for “red” ( ?) is “hong” in Mandarin (Hakka: Fung; Cantonese: Hoong) which also means “prosperous.” Therefore, red is an auspicious colour and has an auspicious sound.

Today I visited another Cosplay, part of the Japan Festa Bangkok 2011 at Parc Paragon. Somehow Thais are fascinated by everything Japanese and lately Korean. Is  it now J-Pop or K-Pop, Anime and Cosplay; they are putting up a show like anywhere in Tokyo or Osaka. Thousands of people attended the gathering with music, food and display. Could not help it to get my Nikons ready, roaming around Paragon and discover the beauty of Thais trimmed Japanese. For almost three hours shoving through visitors and shoppers in hot and humid weather I finally got the images I was looking and expecting for.

Cosplayers obtain their apparel through many different methods. Manufacturers produce and sell packaged outfits for use in cosplay, in a variety of qualities. These costumes are often sold online, but also can be purchased from dealers at conventions. There are also a number of individuals who work on commission, creating custom costumes, props or wigs designed and fitted to the individual; some social networking sites for cosplay have classified ad sections where such services are advertised. Other cosplayers, who prefer to create their own costumes, still provide a market for individual elements, accessories, and various raw materials, such as unstyled wigs or extensions, hair dye, cloth and sewing notions, liquid latex body paint, face paint, shoes, costume jewellery and prop weapons. Most cosplayers engage in some combination of methods to obtain all the items necessary for their costume; for example they may commission a prop weapon, sew their own clothing, buy character jewelry from a cosplay accessory manufacturer, and buy a pair of off-the-rack shoes and modify them to match the desired look.

In order to look more like the character they are portraying many cosplayers also engage in various forms of body modification. Contact lenses that match the color of their character’s eyes are a common form of this, especially in the case of characters with particularly unique eyes as part of their trademark look. Another form of body modification cosplayers engage in is to copy any tattoo or special marking that their character might have. Henna tattoos, permanent marker, body paint and in rare cases having a permanent tattoo done are all methods used by cosplayers to achieve the desired look. Permanent and temporary hair dye, spray-in colouring, and specialized extreme styling products are all utilized by some cosplayers whose natural hair can achieve the desired hairstyle.

Cosplay has influenced the Japanese advertising industry more than it has the commodity market.
Print media increasingly retain cosplayers as models. Good cosplayers are increasingly viewed as fictional characters in the flesh, in much the same way that film actors come to identified in the public mind with specific roles. Cosplayers have model for print magazines like Cosmode, cosplay photography studios,
ADV Films has retained cosplayers for event work previously assigned to agency models. The ability of cosplayers to re-create their chosen characters with accuracy and vitality plays a part in this trend, as does the ability of cosplayers to appeal to an already existing market. E3 was occupied by a mix of both agency girls and cosplayers.
Japan’s burgeoning anime industry has been home to the professional cosplayers since the rise of Comiket, Tokyo Game Show, and other such powerhouse conventions.
A cosplay model, also known as a Cosplay Idol, is a promotional model who models cosplay costumes for anime, manga, or video game companies. A successful cosplay model can become the brand ambassador for companies like Cospa. The phenomenon is most apparent in Japan but exists to some degree in other countries as well.

The appearance of cosplayers at manga events makes such events a popular draw for photographers. As this became apparent in the late 1980s a new variant of cosplay developed in which cosplayers attended events mainly for the purpose of modeling their characters for still photography rather than engaging in continuous role play. Rules of etiquette were developed to minimize awkward situations involving boundaries. Cosplayers pose for photographers in designated areas removed from the exhibit hall. Photographers do not press them for personal contact information or private sessions, follow them out of the area or take photos of exhibits in the hall itself without permission. The rules allow the symbiotic relationship between photographers and cosplayers to continue with the least inconvenience to each.
Recent cosplay events in Asia show an increase in the popularity of non-Asian fantasy and science fiction characters. This reflects the international success of films such as The Dark Knight, The Matrix, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and their associated books.

If you copy a copy; what does it make it? Is Thailand loosing its identity? One can notice the change in the youth; copying Korean and Japanese idols by wearing their fashion, hairstyle and eating their food. Is Bangkok becoming a Harajuku or Shibuya of Tokyo? If the Japanese copying American Comic stars and the Thais copying them, what is left?

After having a Tonkatsu lunch with my mate at Saboten at Isetan, I was surprised to see a number of teenagers with colored hair cruising through the mall. Only once outside at the World Trade Center, in front of Isetan I understood to why. Cosplay! The very same I encounter while living in Tokyo and visiting Harajuku and Shibuya. Thousand of teens dressed in outrages costumes and sporting neon colored hair.

Cosplayers typically come from the ranks of otaku–that is, fans of Japanese comic books, known as manga. They gather at public events such as comic-book and video game trade shows, as well as at dedicated cosplay parties at nightclubs or amusement parks. In Japan teenagers gather with like-minded friends in places like Tokyo’s Harajuku district to engage in cosplay. Since 1998 Tokyo’s Akihabara district has contained a large number of cosplay cafés, catering to devoted anime and cosplay fans. The waitresses at such cafés dress as game or anime characters; maid costumes are particularly popular. In areas outside of Japan, cosplay is primarily done at manga and anime conventions.

Cosplayers in Japan refer to themselves as reiy? (?????); pronounced “layer”. Those who photograph players are called cameko, short for “Camera Koz?” or “Camera Boy”. Originally the cameko give prints of their photos to players as gifts. Increased interest in cosplay events both on the part of photographers and cosplayers willing to model for them have led to formalisation of procedures at events such as Comiket. Photography takes place within a designated area removed from the exhibit hall.

Cosplay differs from Halloween and Mardi Gras costume wear not only in existing independent of any particular holiday, but in its goal. The object of cosplay is interpretation: one attempts to become one’s character much as a stage actor inhabits a role. Costumes are expected to adhere meticulously to the attire known to be worn by the character represented. Even more generic costumes get an elaborately artistic treatment. Cosplayers may purchase or create costumes through fan labor. Cosplayers often educate themselves in crafting specialities such as sculpture, face paint, fiberglasswork, fashion design and the like in the effort to render the look and texture of a costume accurately.

Portraying a character of the opposite sex is “crossplay” while portraying a character who dresses as the opposite sex (from the cosplayer) is called “crossdress”. Examples may serve to clarify the distinction. A female cosplayer representing a male character who wears standard masculine attire is both crossdressing and crossplaying. A female cosplayer who dresses as a male character who wears unisex clothing or feminine attire is crossplaying but not crossdressing. A man portraying that same character would be crossdressing but not crossplaying.

The practicality of crossplay and crossdress stems in part from the abundance in manga of male characters with delicate and somewhat androgynous features. Such characters, known as bish?nen (beautiful youths), are an Asian version of the elfin boy archetype represented in Western tradition by figures such as Peter Pan and Ariel.

The appearance of cosplayers at manga events makes such events a popular draw for photographers. As this became apparent in the late 1980s a new variant of cosplay developed in which cosplayers attended events mainly for the purpose of modeling their characters for still photography rather than engaging in continuous role play. Rules of etiquette were developed to minimize awkward situations involving boundaries. Cosplayers pose for photographers in designated areas removed from the exhibit hall. Photographers do not press them for personal contact information or private sessions, follow them out of the area or take photos of exhibits in the hall itself without permission. The rules allow the symbiotic relationship between photographers and cosplayers to continue with the least inconvenience to each.

Cosplay has influenced the Japanese advertising industry more than it has the commodity market.

Print media increasingly retain cosplayers as models. Good cosplayers are increasingly viewed as fictional characters in the flesh, in much the same way that film actors come to identified in the public mind with specific roles. Cosplayers have model for print magazines like Cosmode, cosplay photography studios,

ADV Films has retained cosplayers for event work previously assigned to agency models. The ability of cosplayers to re-create their chosen characters with accuracy and vitality plays a part in this trend, as does the ability of cosplayers to appeal to an already existing market. E3 was occupied by a mix of both agency girls and cosplayers.

Japan’s burgeoning anime industry has been home to the professional cosplayers since the rise of Comiket, Tokyo Game Show, and other such powerhouse conventions.

A cosplay model, also known as a Cosplay Idol, is a promotional model who models cosplay costumes for anime, manga, or video game companies. A successful cosplay model can become the brand ambassador for companies like Cospa. The phenomenon is most apparent in Japan but exists to some degree in other countries as well.

In order to look more like the character they are portraying many cosplayers also engage in various forms of body modification. Contact lenses that match the color of their character’s eyes are a common form of this, especially in the case of characters with particularly unique eyes as part of their trademark look. Another form of body modification cosplayers engage in is to copy any tattoo or special marking that their character might have. Henna tattoos, permanent marker, body paint and in rare cases having a permanent tattoo done are all methods used by cosplayers to achieve the desired look. Permanent and temporary hair dye, spray-in coloring, and specialized extreme styling products are all utilized by some cosplayers whose natural hair can achieve the desired hairstyle.

In addition to making items specifically for use by cosplayers, the fashion industry has taken inspiration from the world of cosplay in popularizing looks such as the Gothic Lolita, based on clothing worn by popular period characters

The popularity of cosplay in Japan encourages the misconception that cosplay is specifically a Japanese or Asian hobby. The term “cosplay”, though Japanese in origin, described a phenomenon which was witnessed in the United States. For almost fifty years, costuming has had a widespread following and continues to experience growing popularity in North America and Europe, and has more recently spread throughout South America and Australia.

Western cosplay’s origins are based primarily on science fiction and historical fantasy as opposed to animation. It is more common for Western cosplayers to recreate characters from live-action series such as Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, The Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter than it is for Japanese cosplayers. Similarly, animated series may be the origin for many recreations. Western costumers also include subcultures of hobbyists who participate in Renaissance faires or the Society for Creative Anachronism, and historical re-enactments such as Civil War battles.

The increasing popularity of Japanese animation outside of Asia during the late 1990s led to an increase in American and other Western cosplayers who portray Japanese characters. Anime conventions have become more numerous in the West in the last decade. They now compete with science fiction, comic, and historical conferences in attendance. At these gatherings, cosplayers, like their Japanese counterparts, meet to show off their work, take photos, and compete in costume contests. Anime conventions attendees are mostly seen dressed up as Japanese animated characters, but many others dress up as famous Western comic book characters, or as famous characters from movies like Star Wars, Predator, and Pirates of the Caribbean. It is quite common to see many dress up as Disney,