Dragon baby

A stimulating article from Japan Today….

Illustration by Yuriko Suzuki

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The dragon year is regarded as the most auspicious in the almanac because it is the only mythical creature among the dozen animals that represent each year in the Chinese cosmic cycle.

Superstitious Chinese believe children born during the Year of the Dragon—the symbol of ancient emperors—will possess courage and wisdom and bring luck to the entire family.

Past dragon years saw a spike in birth rates in China and other places with predominantly ethnic Chinese populations such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, and this year is likely to be no different.

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Despite 2012 falling under the auspices of the dragon, fengshui masters predict a rocky road for the global economy in the coming year in the shadow of the eurozone crisis, together with a prevalence of disease, natural disasters and political reform.

Looking toward a bright future

They say that this is due to the dragon’s pairing with the Chinese water element for 2012, which symbolizes a strong driving force in nature as well as political will and dampens the fire of economic optimism.

But a grim global reality is unlikely to temper couples’ quest for a “dragon baby”, even in Malaysia, where ethnic Chinese are in the minority.

Obstetrician M Devindran, who runs a fertility clinic, expects an increase in pregnancies among Chinese Malaysians.

“The dragon sign is a very powerful cosmic sign and in my practice, I have seen a 10 to 15% increase in Chinese couples who are trying to conceive a dragon baby,” he told AFP.