The Chinese use the lunar calendar for festive occasions including the New Year which falls somewhere between late January and early February. The cycle of twelve animal signs derives from Chinese folklore as a method for naming the years. The animals follow one another in an established order and are repeated every twelve years - rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Each animal has particular characteristics and people born in a certain year are believed to take on these characteristics. Why is the Chinese zodiac system so important to the Chinese?
Everyone, from the date of birth, has his unique animal sign accompanying him with the life long time. It is the birth symbol and mascot with different symbolic meanings for each one affecting their behaviours, characters and destiny. People show their strong belief in fortune and luck through the animal signs. As each animal sign has unique personality traits, the Chinese people like to predict people's relations and more according to this. For example, when finding their mates, Chinese people hope to find the person with the animal sign that compatible with his best.
Also the zodiac provides guidance on how people live their lives. For example, according to Chinese astrology, in different animal years, people under different signs should pay attention to different things in order to go smoothly in the year. All in all, the Chinese zodiac is an important component of China's ancient culture, reflecting the rich psychology of the Chinese people vividly. People under different signs have unique characters and fortune. You can find out your animal signs quickly according to the zodiac years below. You can also learn detailed information about the personality traits, lucky numbers, colours, compatible animals of persons under different signs.
And peek your horoscope of Career, Wealth, Love and Health in 2016, the year of Monkey. In Chinese tradition, each year is represented by one of 12 zodiac animals. It is believed that each animal has their own set of personality traits, which are shared by those born in a particular year. Use your birth year to find out your Chinese zodiac animal and let us know if your personality matches. It is believed that a person's characteristics are decided by their birth year's zodiac animal sign and element. The monkey is considered a clever animal that is always compared to a smart human being and is ubiquitous in Chinese culture and astrology, symbolising intelligence and long life.
Occupying the last position in 12 Chinese Zodiac animals, Pig is mild and a lucky animal representing carefree fun, good fortune and wealth. Personality traits of the people born under the sign of the Pig are happy, easygoing, honest, trusting, educated, sincere and brave. The possible dark sides the Pig people are stubbornness, naive, over-reliant, self-indulgent, easy to anger and materialistic. Opportunities abound for all Chinese zodiac animals in 2016.
If you're interested in Chinese culture or traditional Chinese medicine, learn more about becoming a student in one of PCOM's acupuncture, massage therapy or holistic nursing programs. No matter your sign, a thorough understanding of Chinese astrology will help you accomplish great things. Detailed below are the 12 major signs of the Chinese zodiac and their corresponding personality traits. Also included are the birth years for each Chinese New Year animal and the other types of zodiac animals with which they are compatible. The sheep, monkey and rooster arrived in that order respectively. The last two animals were the dog and the pig, but the dog got distracted and the pig fell asleep after eating too much.
In the end, the dog became eleventh and the pig came twelve. The rat was supposed to wake the cat up, but in all of its excitement, the rat forgot and by the time the cat woke up, all of the zodiacs were assigned. Rooster ranks the tenth among the Chinese zodiac animals.
In Chinese culture, Rooster represents fidelity and punctuality, for it wakes people up on time. People born in the year of the Rooster are beautiful, kind-hearted, hard-working, courageous, independent, humorous and honest. On the other side, they might be arrogant, self-aggrandizing, persuasive to others and wild as well as admire things or persons blindly. As the symbol of Chinese nation, dragon represents authority and good fortune. It has the fifth position among the Chinese zodiac animals.
People born in the year of the Dragon are powerful, kind-hearted, successful, innovative, brave, healthy courageous and enterprising. However, they tend to be conceited, scrutinizing, tactless, quick-tempered and over-confident. Aturday marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year, China's biggest holiday, which is celebrated throughout the world, including in the U.S. Each year, Chinese people ring in the new year around when the new moon is closest to the beginning of spring, usually sometime between mid-January and late-February. Although China officially uses the international Gregorian calendar, the traditional lunisolar calendar remains a symbol to harken the start of spring.
Depending on various factors, experts would suggest the dos and don'ts for each zodiac sign for the year ahead. Ranging from lucky numbers, lucky colours, lucky flowers and lucky direction, these are believed to influence different aspects of one's life. Experts would also provide advice on work, wealth, health and love. You can find out more by going online, visiting temples or even your neighbourhood malls where comprehensive explanations can be seen being put up along with CNY decorations. In many places, January 1 is "day one" of the new year, based on a calendar that follows the Earth's movement around the sun. But the lunar calendar—upon which the Chinese New Year is based—tracks time by the moon cycles.
That's why people all over the world celebrate Chinese New Year on different days each year; this year the calendar starts on February 1. Many Chinese families have an altar dedicated to their ancestors. Sacrifices of food and paper "money" are offered to make the ancestors happy. Many also post printed scrolls scribed with lucky messages on front doors and entryways.
Adults give out red envelopes containing money to employees and children. Sometimes, fireworks are set off throughout the holiday to mark the new year, but they are also to ward off bad spirits. In many provinces in China and select Chinatowns in the United States, celebrations last for the entire month. In addition to 12 zodiac signs, Chinese astrology recognizes Wu Xing's Five Elements theory based on the respective nature and interactions of metal, water, wood, fire and earth. Click on the image to look up your own sign by birth year and read more about how Judy, Sarah and Kaitlin rediscovered their Chinese Zodiac signs in Hong Kong. If such an occasion occurs, the intercalation of an extra month takes place.
For instance, one may find a year with two "Julys" or with two "Augusts" in the Chinese calendar. In fact, the exact length of the month in the Chinese calendar is either 30 days or 29 days–a phenomenon which reflects its lunar origin. Also, the meteorological cycle means essentially a solar year. The Chinese thus consider their calendar as yin-yang li, or a "lunar-solar calendar." Based on the Chinese Lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on Monday, February 8th in 2016.
This year's zodiac animal, the monkey, is known to be intelligent and creative – but don't let it fool you! Another one of its many personality traits is its aptitude for being mischievous. The sheep, monkey and rooster helped one another across and earned their spots on the calendar as well. The dog made it too, but decided a bath was more important than the position which is why it came in eleventh. Finally, the pig appeared and is listed last because the pig feasted and rested half-way through the race. Each year in the Lunar calendar is represented by one of 12 zodiac animals included in the cycle of 12 stations or "signs" along the apparent path of the sun through the cosmos.
AstrologerReda Wigleresearches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. The rat was the first to show up to the party as it hitched a ride on the ox, who came second, but then hopped off before the ox could cross the finish line. The tiger came third after sprinting to the birthday party, followed by the rabbit and then the dragon. Like the rat, the snake wrapped itself around the leg of the horse and managed to get across the finish line, making it six and the horse seventh.
Different people born under each animal sign have different characters. Ancient Chinese people calculated the compatibility for love between animals based on this. Nowadays, many people are keen on checking compatibilities to gain guidance in life, for love or for marriage although there is no scientific evidence.
If you are interested in this, test the compatibility between you and your partner by using our tool below to test or find through the chart by clicking Chinese Zodiac Compatibility. Interestingly, the Chinese Zodiac came about when the Jade Emperor wanted to select 12 animals to be his guards. He proclaimed that the earlier one arrived, the better rank one would have.
Therefore the order of zodiac signs that we know now was supposedly the order in which the animals arrived. Now that we know the origins of the Chinese Zodiac, let us move onto the juicy parts. People born in the Year of the Monkey are intelligent, witty and strong-willed.
They are remarkably inventive, creative and able to solve most problems. Their curiosity means they have a great thirst for knowledge. They are usually the centre of attention at parties, their creative mind makes them excellent story-tellers and their smile will light up the room.
At times Monkey people are unreasonable, self-centred and opportunitistic. They love challenges and their popularity means they often become leader, but they can be cunning and manipulative to win the race. The love fortune is not good enough for people with Chinese zodiac Monkey born in 2016. It is hard for them to meet their true lover in the early age. After getting married, the relationship may not be very harmonious between them and their spouses. In order to prevent this from happening, they should talk more with their partners, learn to understand them, and accompany them more.
Besides, they can travel together with their partners to promote the relationship during holidays. Last but not least, they should learn not to lose their temper casually. Also known as Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival, it is an important holiday in China, as you might have guessed. Tied to the Chinese lunar calendar, the holiday is a time for celebrating and feasting, along with honoring household and heavenly deities and ancestors.
Inscribed oracle bones with astronomical records indicate that the calendar existed as early as 14th century B.C. Because the Lunar New Year depends on the moon, the date of Chinese New Year changes each year, but it will always fall between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20. The buffalo came in second and became the second animal listed on the Chinese Zodiac. The tiger, also being strong, came in third, followed by the rabbit that jumped his way across and was helped during the last stretch by the dragon. A snake hid in the hoof of the horse which is how it managed to make it across the river. At the last minute the snake jumped out and scared the horse into seventh place.
Tied to the lunar calendar, the holiday began as a time for feasting and to honor household and heavenly deities, as well as ancestors. Both Chinese and Western astrology are systems of divining meaning and ascribing qualities to individuals based on the time of their birth. Western astrology is connected to the Earth's orbit around the sun, hence the term sun sign, and the twelve zodiac signs correspond to 12 constellations. People born in the year of the Rat are clever, quick-witted and resourceful. Ambitious in nature, rats are sometimes overly stubborn and can lack empathy.
That may have to do with the fact that they're a bit sensitive to their own emotions. A good cry may be in store for you this New Year, but it's not a roadblock in your life, just something that may make you a little stronger. It's the start to a fresh beginning, and it's time to celebrate the prosperity and good luck to come.
What Year Of The Animal Is 2016 Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year and Spring Festival, marks the ending of the winter solstice and the welcoming of new seasons in different countries across Asia. Along with the changing of the year, a new Chinese zodiac also gets its time to shine. Ranking as the eleventh animal in Chinese zodiac, Dog is the symbol of loyalty and honesty.
People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They are honest, friendly, faithful, loyal, smart, straightforward, venerable and have a strong sense of responsibility. On the negative side, they are likely to be self-righteous, cold, terribly stubborn, slippery, critical of others and not good at social activities. Ranking the first in the Chinese zodiac, rat represents wisdom.
Personality traits for the people born in the year of the Rat are intelligent, charming, quick-witted, practical, ambitious, and good at economizing as well as social activities. The weaknesses are that the Rats are likely to be timid, stubborn, wordy, greedy, devious, too eager for power and love to gossip. The Monkey people born in the evening are honest, loyal to friends, zealous, well favoured and always give alms to the poor. In work, they are faithful in the performance of their duties and can get appreciation by the supervisor. In fortune, they are late bloomers who suffer lot in their early youth and turn to be better from the middle ages. If they try to handle affairs more steadily when young, life can be smooth.
As is ancient tradition, the Chinese zodiac attaches animal signs to each lunar year in a cycle of 12 years. The animal designation changes at the start of the New Year. People born in the Year of the Dragon are healthy, energetic, excitable, short-tempered, and stubborn. They are also honest, sensitive, brave, and they inspire confidence and trust. Dragon people are the most eccentric of any in the eastern zodiac. They neither borrow money nor make flowery speeches, but they tend to be soft-hearted which sometimes gives others an advantage over them.
They are compatible with Rats, Snakes, Monkeys, and Roosters. They have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people´s confidence because they know how to keep secrets. But Dog People are somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric. They care little for wealth, yet somehow always seem to have money. They can be cold emotionally and sometimes distant at parties. They can find fault with many things and are noted for their sharp tongues.
They are compatible with those born in the Years of the Horse, Tiger, and Rabbit. In China, the start of a new year is celebrated with a Spring Festival, the biggest holiday of the year. Traditionally, people give their house a big spring clean and hang couplets on their doors. Couplets are poetic lines about spring and prosperity written in gold or black on red paper.
