Happy New Year!
Miss Piggy has a special reason to celebrate the Lunar New Year that begins Feb. 5
Miss Piggy is a hand-rod puppet originally performed by Frank Oz and currently performed by Eric Jacobson. In a hand-rod puppet, like Miss Piggy, the performer’s dominant hand goes into the puppet’s head and operates the mouth and sometimes other facial features. The less dominant hand controls the arm rods, which are thin rods connected to the puppet’s hands. Miss Piggy is a diva pig who believes she is a superstar. She is madly in love with Kermit the Frog and is an expert in karate. Miss Piggy began as “Piggy Lee” on The Tonight Show in 1974 and eventually the “Lee” was dropped so as not to upset Peggy Lee. Miss Piggy then became a major character on The Muppet Show. (National Museum of American History, Gift of the Family of Jim Henson: Lisa Henson, Cheryl Henson, Brian Henson, John Henson and Heather Henson)
The Chinese zodiac rotates through a 12-year cycle of animals and the traditional five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. 2019 is the Year of the Earth Pig. The lunar new year opens the Spring Festival season that ends 15 days later on the evening of the Lantern Festival. Dating from as early as 1000 BCE, the traditional Chinese method of counting years is based on the 60-year rotation of the planet Jupiter (known as the “year star”) around the sun.
Check out more porcine pix at https://www.si.edu/spotlight/year-of-the-pig
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Posted: 5 February 2019
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