By Charly SHELTON

This year in the Chinese zodiac is the Year of the Pig. Pigs are seen as slow, clumsy and stupid and also good-natured and able to attract wealth. Though the Lunar New Year has come and gone and we are now within the Year of the Pig, the celebration continues at local malls, in private homes and, in an even bigger fashion, at the local theme parks. Universal Studios Hollywood has been celebrating off-and-on, depending on rain, since Feb. 2 and will continue through until next Monday, Feb. 18.

Guests can meet their favorite Universal characters like Po the Panda and Tigress from “Kung Fu Panda,” a Mandarin-speaking Megatron character from “Transformers” and the Minions and Hello Kitty dressed in their Lunar New Year attire. Aspiring artists can learn to draw Po or any of the Furious Five with Feng The Palace Artist’s Stand. And even Po’s father, the wise-cracking goose Mr. Ping, is welcoming guests in person at his noodle shop. To the side of the shop, one of Mr. Ping’s helpers takes orders and dishes out Chinese food favorites like Secret Ingredient Stir Fry Noodles, Po’s Dumplings, Dragon Warrior Bao and Oogway Egg Rolls.

But the best part of the whole event is the Wishing Tree. Several cherry blossom trees are scattered throughout Universal Plaza with tables at the base. Guests can pick up a traditional good luck red card and write their wish for the coming year. Then the card is pinned to the tree and the wishes are carried away by the wind. It is a great way to start a new lunar year with hope and positivity for the future. And reading everyone else’s wishes that are pinned restores faith in humanity, as most of the wishes (during my visit anyway) were asking for health, wealth and peace for someone else or the whole world. It’s less about what the individual needed, and more about what the world needs.

For more info, visit UniversalStudiosHollywood.com.

  Charly Shelton