News - February 16 - Shenkuu Lunar Festival

[varii]

When I first clicked on the news, I had a sudden jolt of joy that we may have gotten a new color to paint our pets, but alas.

Maybe next new year. I think the adding of a new holiday was plenty, this time around.

Eh, I don't know if I completely agree. TNT has a habit of having pretty useless holidays/events/special days. If they're going to make a day dedicated to Shenkuu, they might as well use it to really integrate the land into Neopia by adding a new color.

Yes, I can so see a new PB coming out of this

I'm starting to imagine what TNT could possibly do..like if they'd split it into boy/girl colors like the royal ..or I don't know. I can't imagine it, but I'm excited at the concept.

[Huggles]

Ninjas!

Seriously, why don't we have ninja pets? They're much better than pirates and I've wanted one for so long.

[smudgeoffudge]

I think they should make a wise paint brush. They have several elderly but wise looking pets on the site. That one old ruki, the lenny archives lenny, kind altador, and now this gnorbu. While I might not really want an old pet, someone might, if they did it right. By old, I mean wise and regal looking, not like wrinkly no teeth and glasses old. I mean like an old wise wizard look, or a kind of kingly look.

Ninjas would be nice too.

[Runevalkyrie]

You'd think they'd give us the solution to the Bonju avatar as a gift for such a glorious event

[Daze]

I the Pygui.

The Lunar Temple is a great new daily. I wonder how long it will take TNT to make an avatar for it?


Well done TNT!!

[wandersong]

This is in honour of Lunar new year, since this is the year of the Pig! Though they're a day early, Lunar new year eve is tomorrow.... though i wonder if they're going to follow the Lunar calendar or just fix it as 16th Feb? oh, and i wonder since it's the year of the mouse next, if we will have a mouse themed thingy next year?

The snorkles are really cute . But the nimmo fun image is a bit weird, that is so not how you open a folded fan......

Sorry just a bit hyper now.

[ggagahc]

You'd think they'd give us the solution to the Bonju avatar as a gift for such a glorious event

OH YEAH. I was beginning to forget that nobody has figured out how to get it yet.

[Morningstar]

Eh, I don't know if I completely agree. TNT has a habit of having pretty useless holidays/events/special days. If they're going to make a day dedicated to Shenkuu, they might as well use it to really integrate the land into Neopia by adding a new color.

It isn't a useless holiday whatsoever. It is their version of the Chinese New Year. Just like Wandersong mentioned above. Every year prior to this year, TNT celebrated the Chinese New Year (check the old news and you will see what I mean). The Chinese New Year occurs this Sunday, the 18th, and is the year of the pig (notice the resemblance of the new petpet to a wild boar). Perhaps, for whatever reason, TNT decided to make it "politically correct" this year. And so they created a fictional place called Shenkuu which anyone can see resembles a town in China. And they called it a Lunar Celebration instead of Chinese New Year Celebration. After all, the Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. Surely, Wandersong and I aren't the only ones to see the resemblance here to a Chinese New Year celebration. And the firecracker snorkle, I mean, really how much more obvious can they get? Chinese New Year in PC form.

Last edited by Morningstar on Fri Feb 16, 2007 6:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Mongrel]

Actually, Lunar New Year is just a more inclusive term that's already used in other places, like Taiwan. It's not just celebrated in China, so calling it Lunar New Year makes more sense than calling it Chinese New Year.

[Morningstar]

Actually, Lunar New Year is just a more inclusive term that's already used in other places, like Taiwan. It's not just celebrated in China, so calling it Lunar New Year makes more sense than calling it Chinese New Year.

I agree. Every year til this year, it has been a Chinese New Year celebration. And this year, it has been changed. I think Neopets realized that by limiting it to a certain specific country, they could be insulting other places that celebrate the same event. Or, that they would be opening themselves up to having to celebrate every country's unique holidays. After all, it isn't fair to celebrate a Chinese holiday, if you don't also celebrate a Dutch holiday or a Brazilian holiday, etc.

[Daze]

As mentioned above, the Lunar New Year is celebrated by many countries.

In Tibet, it is the year of the Fire Pig (element and animal is important):

Each year is ruled by one of the five elements and one of twelve animal signs as in Chinese calendars, but they start the year on different dates and the months have different lengths. So it is very important not to mix Tibetan and Chinese systems together.

I thought TNT has captured that perfectly with the Cracker Snorkles.

[Morningstar]

Daze, I would just love to have a firecracker snorkle. That has to be the cutest little petpet I have ever seen. Gosh, I would love it if they released that as a color--I would pay top dollar for the PB. *hopes a staff member is lurking and indulges me*

[Kenjiro]

I hate to get mixed up in a discussion about religion, but taking the Chinese out of Chinese New Year? I mean come on.. What offence is there in using the word 'Chinese'? The holiday originated from China, so why take away that part which defines it? Taiwan just uses 'Lunar New Year', because they're still trying to resist being a part of China.

Changing the name of holiday is a far graver offence than not celebrating it at all, imo. It's like the political correctness warfare over at the USA, where people 'take offence' at Merry Christmas, just because they don't celebrate it. How about just ignoring it? Over there Happy Holidays also won as being the "correct" term (since there are many more holidays around that period), but you can you imagine the riots if someone were to try and change "Merry Christmas" to "Merry Birth of Jezusday", just because they weren't Christians?

If you want to celebrate it, do it the way it was intended and named. Otherwise, tap into the darkest, inner most hidden powers and try, just try even a little... to just ignore it.

Or, that they would be opening themselves up to having to celebrate every country's unique holidays. After all, it isn't fair to celebrate a Chinese holiday, if you don't also celebrate a Dutch holiday or a Brazilian holiday, etc.

I think it depends more on the popularity of the Holiday. Chinese New Year is practically acknowledged everywhere, and more people celebrate it, or find the celebrations enjoyable. It has become more of a standard festival, like Halloween and Christmas. If they were to celebrate every holiday in the world, they'd never get to our plot prizes at all anymore

[Ange]

I just thought they got rid of the China part because there is no country of China in the Neopian World, hence the Shenkuu Lunar Festival.

[Mongrel]

TNT keeps getting farther and farther from using overt real-world references, like angisfab mentioned. They replaced the humanoids with Neopets(faeries excepted). They call their timezone "Neopian Standard" instead of Pacific Standard/Daylight. Heck, they call Christmas "Day of Giving" on the calendar.