Happy Lunar New Year!

Though the festivities start a little early (much like the Western world parties the night before) the Lunar New Year actually begins January 26, 2009.

In WoW we're celebrating it with a festival that lasts three weeks during which we fight off a demon dog of lore, shoot fireworks, and pay our respects to the elders who give us lucky red envelopes.

As a Chinese American this is a holiday I have celebrated in the real world as well. (And the nice thing about the real world is that those lucky red envelopes come with money. They don't give you gold in WoW!) Though I was never told the story of Nian as a child (Omen in game), it pleases me to no end to have an in-game holiday that is culturally relevant to me.

There are just a couple things I wish Blizzard had included... and it's really just indulgence on my part. So perhaps as a wishlist for next year, I would like:

1) More varieties of Chinese food. There are so many kinds of beer available at Brewfest. Surely they could incorporate a few more pieces of cuisine for the Lunar Festival.

2) Dragon or lion dancing. Maybe they could have a costume like the Blizzcon murloc one where people can turn into a Chinese-style lion for a short period of time (since the dragon would have to be overly long).

While I do like visiting all the elders, I wish there had been more of an update for this year besides adding more elders in Northrend.

In the meantime, let's ring in the Year of the Ox. If you're a tauren you have no excuse for not doing well this year. ;) Happy New Year!