🐍 Snakes: More Than Meets the Eye! 🐍

CGTN Europe

In 2025, the Year of the Snake will be celebrated by hundreds of millions worldwide. But did you know how deeply snakes are woven into our myths, cultures, and symbols?  #CNY #ChineseNewYear #YearOfTheSnake

Transcript

00:00How do you feel about snakes?

00:03Well, in 2025, hundreds of millions of people across the world

00:07will be celebrating the Year of the Snake,

00:10and they may see things differently.

00:12Snakes are a recurring symbol in many creation myths.

00:16In the Christian tradition, the most familiar serpent

00:19appears in the biblical story of Adam and Eve.

00:22Attempted by Satan in the form of a snake,

00:25they eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

00:28As a result, God banishes them from the Garden of Eden

00:32and curses the snake.

00:34This serpent is often seen as a symbol of evil,

00:37but also of knowledge.

00:39Meanwhile, in Chinese mythology,

00:41Nuwa, a snake with a woman's head,

00:44is credited with creating humanity.

00:46According to legend,

00:48Nuwa shaped the first humans from yellow clay.

00:51As she grew tired, she dipped a rope into the mud

00:54and swung it round.

00:56The blobs that fell became common people,

00:59while the handcrafted figures became the nobility.

01:02That was a bit unfair, wasn't it?

01:04And across different cultures,

01:06snakes are also considered symbols of immortality.

01:09They have been observed biting their own tails to form a circle,

01:13and their coiled bodies often resemble spirals.

01:17This symbolism appears in Egyptian, Hindu, and Norse mythologies.

01:21Curiously, snakes are also closely linked to medicine.

01:25The ancient Greek god of medicine, Asclepius,

01:28is often depicted with a staff entwined by a serpent,

01:32a symbol still seen in medical logos today.

01:35So, whatever you felt about snakes before,

01:38be ready to see them in a new light.

01:40Happy Year of the Snake!

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