While Lunar New Year was considered one of the good "themed" festivals in Animalia, this year was a bit of a problem, due to being the Year of the Pig. For one thing, the word 'pig' often had a lot of negative things attached to them. Fortunately, there was enough to set themes to keep things interesting.
First, the Mister and Miss Year of the Pig competition would be less about beauty and more about strength and martial arts. This was because not many people would consider a pig beautiful, at least in the west. Fortunately, the decision to include a sumo wrestling event with fully trained pigs helped it gain ground.
There was also a chance to dispel many myths about both pigs and sumo wrestlers. While many associated pigs with filth, in actuality, pigs wallowed in mud because their skin didn't have as many sweat glands in their skin, at least compared to humans, if at all. Because of that, they had to find other ways of cooling off in hot weather.
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That wasn't the only thing going on. There was also going to be a fireworks display, with many of said fireworks only being available in Asia, and only used during Lunar New Year. Part of what made it interesting was that Bakugami. from Little Asia, would be the one in charge of it, though there was still a little confusion about his role.
"Why would a pig be balanced on a cherry bomb?" asked one PR-MD agent, working on the poster for Bakugami's Fireworks show.
"It's because some things seen in the night sky that might be strange to us are actually common in Asia." said his co-worker "For instance, when Asians look at the moon, they don't see a moon. Instead they see a rabbit working on a kind of rice paste. That also helps explain Ammy's hand/paw gestures when she and Yumigami meet, and Ammy gains the Crescent brush technique. One person mashes the rice together, while the other turns it over."
Meanwhile two other PR-MD were discussing similar, yet separate things.
"I've found that one common thread in mythology was a great flood that wipes out almost everyone, but only a small group of survivors manage to escape due to building an ark." said one.
"I've seen that." said his co-worker. "And I also saw that the pig, or boar, has a greater part in Hinduism than most realize. After the world is swamped by the great flood and taken over by a demon, the god Vishnu takes the form of a boar to do battle with him. Not only does he kill the demon, he also uses his tusks to raise the earth back up above the waters."
"I only know that certain animals in Hinduism have a special kind of karma that makes them sacred." said a third. "I once saw a yak that had a certain kind of karma, judging by the fact that he tried to nudge a rival off a perilous hillside only to overbalance from the effort and forward roll down the hill."
"Perhaps there is a god after all." said a fourth, earning a good laugh for everyone who heard that.