HONG KONG (UCAN) -- Many expect the Lunar Year of the Rat beginning on Feb. 7 and ending next Jan. 25 to be a time of hard work, activity and renewal.

A person born in such a year -- 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984 -- is said to be brave, family-minded, clever and adaptable to change in one's environment.

As this Year of the Rat was nearing, January's snowstorms tested the courage and adaptability of all Chinese people, not just those born in the rat year.

The start of the Lunar New Year is a time for Chinese family reunions. Media reports captured the agony of millions of migrant workers at train stations in the mainland, and those who spoke had the same wish: "To go home and meet my family in the New Year. I miss them." At a Guangzhou train station, many braved cold and rain, fatigue and hunger, for a week as they waited for trains to bring them home.

At the least, the snowstorms have claimed 60 lives, destroyed 228,000 houses and forced 1.8 million people to relocate. They also wreaked havoc on coal and petrol supplies, not to mention water and food. The damage to date is estimated to exceed 50 billion yuan (about US$7 billion).

China's traffic, telecommunication and electricity problems exposed by the snowstorms were coupled with scarce news about snow-hit areas. This tested the effectiveness and efficiency of the government's contingency plans, and its competence to combat the chaos and deliver relief.

Local and foreign media reports on the calamity offered more much needed information about the catastrophic areas, as State Council officials for contingency measures acknowledged to journalists on Feb. 1 in Beijing.

The Church in affected areas has also been tested. Traffic, electricity and telecommunication woes caused by the snowstorms have impacted Church personnel as much as anyone. With the traffic standstill, many priests could not visit rural churches to offer Mass or administer sacraments, while some who tried to travel were injured on slippery roads. Chinese Catholics cherish the Anointing of the Sick as extremely important for the dying, but trying to administer the sacrament under these conditions proved challenging.

Formation courses and retreats for many laity have been rescheduled. Contacting individual Catholics stuck on trains or in rural areas became impossible because phone lines fell, signals failed and cell phone batteries could not be recharged.

Catholics could improve the pastoral situation with better information exchanges. A priest in Hunan, a worst-hit province, has urged local Catholics online to help stranded Catholics and share Lunar New Year joy.

Churches in Guangdong province are ready to receive migrants at their celebrations. Clergy and laypeople have been asked to pray, and donate clothes and money for the needy, so as to do charity and foster an "offering culture."

The pressure of inflation has long affected many, but the snowstorm-caused unstable supply of food and resources inevitably will raise prices even more.

Amid the cacophony of firecrackers, northerners usually celebrate Lunar New Year's Day with homemade dumplings as their main dish. The dumplings, wrapped to resemble Chinese gold nuggets of ancient days, symbolize harmony and family reunion. Some Catholics complain that pork prices have doubled and other dumpling ingredients such as vegetables and flour are also costlier.

This Lunar New Year coincides with Lent, and Ash Wednesday, a fasting day, falls on New Year's Eve. But with an eye to Chinese cultural needs, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other dioceses, as in Taiwan and Hong Kong, have dispensed the faithful from fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday.

Even so, many mainland Catholics manifest their determination in faith by strictly observing the practice. "There's no need for dispensation," some told UCA News. "Ashes will be distributed at Ash Wednesday Mass on Feb. 6. After the fast, we'll enjoy New Year's Day."

In Catholic villages, some families will avoid big New Year celebrations and extensive visiting, but instead actively participate in prayers. In this difficult time, one can live more simply and care more for others.

Some mainland Catholics have told UCA News, "To greet Our Lord in the church on Lunar New Year's Day is the first joyous thing to do." They said they want to thank God for family reunions and to pray, not just for their own happiness but this year especially for the snowstorm victims.

Religion and culture blend together as Lent calls us to renew and purify our souls, and grow closer to the Lord. The start of the New Year celebrates family reunions as well as the blossoming and revitalizing of creation, encouraging us to be good stewards of the earth.

As we exchange greetings with all celebrating the Lunar New Year, we are mindful of the migrants stranded at train stations, especially the two who died while struggling to board a train to go home to join their families.

Our special prayer is for this year's snowstorm plight soon to be over.

-----

Annie Lam is in charge of the China Office of UCA News.

(Accompanying photos available at here

END