Chinese New Year Animal and Belief (part 1)

And the winner is...

Let me ask you a question though, do you know why the order of the animas is the way it is? Well, it started in heaven, when Buddha invited all the animals to a banquet, and said that whichever twelve animals came first would have a year name after them. As you see from the list; the rat arrived first, ox was second, and so on.

You may ask why the rat arrived first when it is the smallest animal from the list. The legend says that when the animals were about to reach the finish line, the rat jumped on top of the ox's nose.

When the ox was about to cross the finish line, the rat reached its body in front of the ox's nose. And that is how the rat won the race.

There also are a couple of things related to the animals that you may want to know. First, the Chinese people traditionally consider a girl born in the year of the Horse to be bad luck, but this point of view is gradually changing in modern Chinese society.

In Chinese culture, the horse represents wildness, a hard head and a free life. These are all qualities that a girl is not supposed to possess.

Second, the reason all three animals (sheep, ram, and goat) are put in the same category is that the Chinese character for sheep represents all three animals. So, if you get a calendar with a goat rather than sheep, don't worry, you are not getting the wrong calendar.

Lastly, a baby that is born in the year of the pig is considered to be the luckiest animal of them all. The pig represents fat, good health and riches in Chinese culture. So be proud if you are born in the year of the pig.

One superstition is widely believed in China. When the New Year's animal is the same as the one for the year you were born, then you should be careful. Let's look at an example. If you are born in the year of the ox, and the New Year is the year of then ox, then be careful.

Everyone says that when this year comes around, there will be some big changes in your life. Either it could be really good or it could be really bad.

True life story...

Let take me for example the year of 2008. This was the year of the rat, which is my year. Starting in 2008:

  • I graduated from my college (big change). Cost = a lot of money
  • " Going out to work in the real world, I got scammed... twice. I did not know that scams can happen in workplace (big change and eye opening). Cost = also a lot of money
  • " Tried to be an entrepreneur, but failed dozens of times. Cost = a lot of time
  • " Gaining more knowledge of about life, starting this website, and not giving up. PRICELESS
  • " For anything else, there is culture-4-travel.com. (and debt hehe)

Think back. Did any life-changing events happen when you were 11-12, 23-24, or 35-36 years old, good or bad?

Fish, even though is not on the list with the other twelve animals, is the symbol for Chinese New Year. The meaning of fish is abundance and plenty. You will find images of fish on almost all New Year cards and red packets, where the meaning stands for plenty of money and wealth. You can also pick up some Red Packets here.

Now, you have a basic understanding of the Chinese New Year animal. You can click here to go to the next page and learn about Chinese New Year customs.

Thank you for joining me today. Please check back for future updates. From where I am and wherever you are, have a warm holiday and good luck everybody.

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Raphita Tobing