Happy New Year of the Wood Snake!
This is the first piece of the year of the Snake. I hope it brings you a moment of joy and peace. I had a wonderful family New Year’s Eve dinner. As a family tradition, my mom made a sweet rice cake with the character 福 (fú, meaning happiness or luck) on it that’s made of dates (photo below). The photo is upside down because the “upside down 倒了” also can be said as “arrived 到了” . The Chinese tradition of presenting character 福 (happiness) is always to show it upside down :) Wish you all a lot of joy, good health and prosperity in the year of the Snake!
I wrote a poem to go with this song:
《木蛇福》
青乙衔芝至，灵蛇绕碧柯。
（Wood Snake descends with auspicious herbs, coiling around emerald branches）
泠泠十三柱，沐此上春和。
（Across thirteen icy strings, the melody bathes in vernal harmony）
焦尾裁新谱，钧天续旧歌。
（Crafting new scores on ancient zithers, celestial music revives timeless odes）
弦惊梅雪落，一霎福生多。
（Startled strings shake plum blossoms loose—suddenly, blessings multiply）
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