![]() The cycle begins with the Year of the Rat and ends with the Year of the Pig. It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture, marking the end of winter and the beginning of the new year (based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar).Īccording to the Chinese zodiac, a traditional classification system based on the lunar calendar, each year in a 12-year rotation cycle is assigned an animal. When it comes to mapping a personality, a person is more than just the animal of their birth year, reflecting internal, "true" and secret qualities based on the other animal signs associated with the hour and day of their birth.Lunar New Year, referred to in China as nongli xinnian 農曆新年 – meaning 'agricultural calendar New Year’ or ‘farmers’ calendar New Year’ – is thought to have originated in ancient China around 3500 years ago. There's also the "inner animal" assigned to each month, the "true animal" assigned to each day and the "secret animal" assigned to each hour. The Chinese zodiac animal for your own birth year will also have its own unique interactions with the Year of the Rat.įor those who want to dive even deeper into Chinese astrology, animal signs designate more than just years. The Diplomat, a Washington D.C.-based news magazine covering the Asia-Pacific region, has even used the Year of the Rat to analyze the future of China itself, predicting 2020 will be a year of renewal, and a chance "to turn unfortunate events into fortunate ones." The Chinese zodiac can be interpreted in a number of different ways. Meanwhile, the colors yellow or brown and the numbers five and nine can be considered unlucky. Lucky associations with the Year of the Rat include the numbers two and three, and the colors gold, blue and green. ![]() They are powerful symbols of fertility, wealth and plenty, so people born in the Year of the Rat are considered to be optimistic, easy-going and kind, if a bit too direct. ![]() Associated with the hour before and after midnight, the rat typically represents new beginnings. Similar to astrology, the zodiacal Rat is laden with multiple layers of symbolism. ![]() The spread of coronavirus has blunted celebrations of the Lunar New Year in China, where travel restrictions have affected celebrants, like this girl standing next to a "Year of the Rat" display in a Beijing railway station. While China switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1921, the Chinese lunar calendar-which sets the beginning of months based on the new moon, with the new year determined in relation to the winter solstice-continues to be used for holidays like Chinese New Year and has been adopted by other cultures and countries in the region, including Korea and Vietnam. The lunar calendar on which the Chinese zodiac depends is even older, with origins in the Zhou dynasty, which ruled parts of China for nearly 800 years until its final defeat in 222 B.C., toward the end of the Warring States period. and second century A.D.-and became popular as birth year indicators in subsequent centuries. The exact origins of the Chinese zodiac are unknown, but associations between animals and years developed were codified during the Han Dynasty-sometime between the second century B.C. Instead, the repeating 12-year cycle-rotating through Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig-is based in ancient astronomical observations of Jupiter's approximately 12-year orbit of the sun. The Chinese zodiac consists of 12 animals, which do not equate to specific constellations, as in the Western astrological tradition. 2020 is the Year of the Rat, inaugurating a new 12-year cycle in the Chinese zodiac, beginning on Saturday, January 25-the Lunar New Year.
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