Errand Lunar Year Lanterns Group 1

'Then the ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

by the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,

Though thy crest be shorn and shaven,

"Thou," I said, "art sure no craven. Ghastly grim and ancient raven, wandering from the nightly shore. Tell me what thy lordly name is on the night's Plutonian shore!"

Quoth the raven,"Nevermore."'

Interacting with @Ruka Tân & @Selim Faust
Mentioning @Piérre Marchonné & @Cypresse Lian

Interacting with @Cypresse Lian @Jack Burnett @Ruka Tân @Selim Faust @Piérre Marchonné @Alexx Séverin @May Moonstar
Open for Interaction

After Professor Lian gave her speech to the group, she also told them if they had any questions before they begin. Griseldis waited to see if anyone did want to ask her or the Professor. But so far nobody ask, she even notice a group of two Slytherin boys (she knew one of them) and the Gryffindor boy were minding their own business but then Jack finally asked a question but directly for the Professor.

"Professor Lian, what is the relation of paper lanterns and calligraphy to the Chinese New Year? And how does the theme of the Chinese Zodiac tie in to what we're doing? Didn't you say you would tell us a story?"

Griseldis first turned to look at the Professor giving her a nod meaning she would answer the questions for her then looked back at Jack, "Well, I'm going to answer this for the Professor. You see, in China, paper lanterns have many different shapes and colors, however, the paper lantern during the Chinese New year is very special because they must be in the color red, cause in Chinese culture the color represents harmony. It also represents happiness, vitality, illustration and wealth. The Chinese people always hung these red lanterns on important festivals such as Lantern Festival, Chinese New Year and Chinese National Day in parks or along main streets. As for the calligraphy to the Chinese New Year, I can show you all right now before I tell you a short story about the Chinese Zodiac." With that being said, Griseldis went to take a piece of Xuan Rice Paper from the side and place it on the table in front of her, unlike normal paper, the Xuan Rice Papers were very thin and soft. Only used for traditional Chinese painting with ink or water paints. She first poured a bit water into the ink slab then used an ink stick that was lying beside and began to grind in circles gently with patiently [click here to see how it looks like grinding ink], "The process of ink grinding requires time and patience, this process is able to make people stay calm and enter a state of mind suitable for calligraphy." A few minutes later, Griseldis stopped and placed the ink stick carefully on the ink slab, then picked up the brush and started to paint the Chinese calligraphy slowly.

"Alright! This is how you write the Chinese calligraphy of Chinese New Year.", when Griseldis finished her work, she showed them the four written simplified Chinese characters:

"Xing Nian Kuai Le - means Happy New Year in Chinese"

She carefully turned the Xuan Rice Paper around so the group in front of her could see the Chinese calligraphy wasn't showing upside down to them anymore.

"Now, I'll tell you a little bit about the Chinese Zodiac story.", the Gryffindor Prefect cleared her throat with a few soft coughs and began the storytelling.

Source of the picture [click here]

"The tale started in ancient China, there was a heavenly Jade Emperor who decided that the time should be segmented into cycles of 12 years with an earthly animal guarding each cycle. He announced that the first 12 animals that arrive at the Heavenly Gate in time before the deadline will earn a place in the zodiac calendar accordingly. Many animals were excited about the news, but it really seemed like a race competition. Back then, there was a who could have become one of the Chinese Zodiac, but one of the versions I know, the Rat broke the promise to wake the up and cause the to be late and in the end wasn't able to become one, that was the reason why in most Chinese folktales, the and the Rat are sworn enemies. First, the rat couldn't cross the river, but luckily with a friendly help with an Ox they were able to cross it together but the rat was a bit ungrateful and jumped in front of the Ox to secure the first place, Ox didn't mind though and took the second place. Then the Tiger claimed third place, followed by the Rabbit. The only animal that could fly was the dragon that took fifth place. The Horse then arrived but the snake was quicker and took the sixth place so the horse was seventh place. The Goat, Monkey, and Rooster had to work together and they built a raft to cross the river, coming in eighth, ninth, and tenth respectively. The Dog was a good swimmer and runner, but was too playful and wasn't focus much but still made it at the eleventh spot. Last but not least was the Pig, who took a very long nap in the middle of the race but at least he woke up before the and completed the zodiac cycle. I think it would be much better to let Professor tell you about this story." Griseldis still preferred to let the Professor give her version of the Chinese Zodiac story to the group, so she quickly changed the subject.

"So while Professor Lian tells us a more detailed story of the Chinese Zodiac, you all can watch the demonstration of me making a paper lantern if any of you need help you are all welcome to ask me." She said to the group, then the Gryffindor girl went to sit where all the supplies for the paper lanterns were and began to used the red papers to caft a our a lantern out of it.

OOC: We apologize for the long wait, a lot of things happened irl but hopefully this errand will be completed soon and you will get your reward. And I'm also sorry if this post wasn't good enough. If I missed something or have any mistakes, then I apologize for that as well

Hey, everyone, sorry about the wait!

So far, the people in this errand who have completed the word count are:
@Ruka Tân
@Selim Faust
@Jack Burnett
@Piérre Marchonné
All of you have been rewarded. You are free to keep RPing, or if you can come up with an IC reason to leave early (like your character forgetting that they double-booked something or getting sick or whatever), you can do that too.

The following people are still short of the word count:
@May Moonstar by 586 words
@Alexx Séverin by 285 words
Keep it up, you guys!

Cy grinned as she listened to Gris answer for her, explanation remarkably thorough. "Gris is right - lanterns are an integral part of Chinese celebrations, whether through solving lantern riddles or flying lanterns, which are cool as hell, by the way. Calligraphy, on the other hand, is a very important art form to a lot of countries, like Japan, Korea, Israel, India, and of course, China. A few tips: Hold your brush like this," she demonstrated with her wand, "with the brush in between your middle and ring finger, and raise your elbow off the table - you want to be writing from your shoulder, not your wrist, which will feel really shaky at first, but you'll get used to it. When you make a stroke, you're going to want to make the line and then back-paddle a little before lifting the brush off the paper so you have a clean end. Write big, so that you have more space to work." She scrunched up her nose as a thought came to her. "Also, roll your sleeves up. You're going to get ink everywhere on your first try.

"Gris got most of the idea of the Chinese Zodiac, but let's go over the version I have prepared." With a flick of her wrist, a bright paper cutout floated up from behind her desk, an old bearded man dressed in
colorful robes and a stately Chinese equivalent of a crown. "This is the Jade Emperor, or the 玉皇 [yu huang]. The 玉皇 is the ruler of Heaven, kind of like Zeus in Greek mythology. One day, he declared that there would be a race, just like Gris said, to see which twelve animals would guard each part of the Chinese Zodiac: One animal for each year, with twelve years completing a full cycle. It would start the next day, and the first twelve animals to reach the Heavenly Gates would win."

"This next part tends to vary with which version you're listening to, but here's mine." The cutouts of a rat, a cat, and an ox flew into the air. "The Rat and the , 鼠 [shu] and 貓 [mao], agreed to help each other get to the Heavenly Gates the fastest. You see, you get there, you had to cross a celestial river - it's what the Chinese thought the Milky Way was. Since neither animal could swim, they asked the humble Ox, or 牛[niu], the best swimmer of the lot, if he'd let them ride on his back across the river, and he agreed - he didn't really care about what place he got, after all."

The cutouts arranged themselves with the cat and the rat atop the ox, floating steadily across the air. "Come morning, they did just as planned. As they neared the shore, though, the , excited to be the first to land, was about to jump off the Ox's back. But the clever Rat saw this coming, and before the could jump, pushed him right into the water." The cat tipped off of the ox, drifting to the floor. "And so the Rat landed first, becoming the first animal of the zodiac. People born under the year of the Rat, so this year, and people who are currently twelve years old, meaning some First and some Second Years, are clever and quick-witted.

"The Ox clambered onto shore next, making him the second animal of the zodiac. People born in the year of the Ox are steadfast and dependable.

"So who was next? The third animal of the zodiac was the Tiger, or 虎 [hu], with powerful legs. People born under the Tiger are passionate and authoratative." A cutout of a tiger, the mark of the king on its forehead, ran to take its place beside the ox, while a smaller form emerged from behind her. "The fourth was the Rabbit, or 兔 [tu], who ran fast and light. People of the Rabbit year are popular and sincere."

"Fifth place was the Dragon, or 龍 [long], who flew over the river. The dragon said he was late because he was tending the rain over the Chinese villages. Unlike the fire-breathing European dragons, Chinese dragons are benevolent, and control the weather, flying without wings. Without this responsibility, the Dragon would've been first. People born in the year of the Dragon are charismatic and fearless." The cutout of a dragon wound across the sky, landing next to the rabbit.

"Sixth came the Snake, or 蛇 [she], who moved just as fast as she struck her prey. People of the Snake year are charming and generous, which are quite different connotations when compared to their place in European folktales. Seventh was the Horse, or 馬 [ma], who ran across the sky and got there just after the Snake did." Two new paper figures joined the line.

"Hey, we're a little more than halfway through - anyone want to guess what animal I am, or what animal you are? I was born in 1998, if that helps."