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2martens
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What does every aspiring dragon mother want? A dragon baby. Monday begins the year of the dragon, considered the luckiest of the Chinese lunar years. Some Chinese and Chinese-Americans are so committed to welcoming a child this year that they are getting fertility treatments to boost their chances.
Being aligned with cosmic forces is important in Chinese culture. The year of the dragon is supposed to be particularly fortunate for babies, marriages and businesses. Those born as dragons are "the strongest, smartest and the luckiest—supposedly," says Yibing Huang, a professor of Chinese literature and culture at Connecticut College. Mr. Huang has a dragon brother, though he himself is a sheep, a "mediator," he says.
Chinese often schedule important life events to take advantage of the luckiest times. A recent lunar year that spanned two springs spurred a spike in weddings. And even though births are trickier to plan, in 2000, the most recent year of the dragon, 202,000 more babies were born in Taiwan than a year earlier, according to the Taipei Times citing government statistics.
Robyn Perchik, owner of Beverly Hills Egg Donation in California, said a doctor told her about the coming year of the dragon, so she increased the clinic's database of donors of Chinese origin by targeting Chinese-language newspapers. The group has seen a 250% surge in contracts signed for those eggs in the past few months compared with a year earlier, says Ms. Perchik.
