Happy New Year

February 14th was loaded with news of sweethearts and breakups, and an emotionally-charged Olympic tournament.

But what I failed to hear news of was the Chinese New Year.

February 14th marked the "most important of traditional Chinese holidays," according to one online article.

Chinese New Year is labeled on most western calendars as the Lunar New Year. This is because it observes the lunar cycle.

Our calendar, the Gregorian calendar, is a solar calendar introduced by papal decree in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. It is also the internationally accepted civil calendar -- simply put, everyone observes it, including the Chinese (since 1911) and other sub-groups decendent of the Han culture (Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and so on).

Fast fact: Japan was the first asian country to adopt the western calendar.

And, in case you were wondering, that A.D. you see after a year is Latin for Anno Domini, which counts forward from the year of Jesus' birth.

So, because the media or the national conversation isn't discussing a topic doesn't mean you shouldn't. It doesn't mean a topic is any less important than another.

Public discussion of all topics, asking questions, and discovering new information should be a goal of all people.

It's not only the American way, but the human way of life.

More information on the Chinese New Year can be found here.