Chinese New Year 2018 – THE YEAR OF THE DOG
What date is the Chinese New Year 2018?
Each Chinese New Year takes place on a different date, based on the lunar calendar each year. Happy New Year!
How do people celebrate the Chinese New Year?
The world celebrations are an explosion of light and sound, involving the ringing of bells, lighting firecrackers and watching traditional lion dances.
Chinese families gather together for a reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve. They clean their houses to sweep away bad fortune on New Year’s Day.
An old tradition that children enjoy involves red envelopes stuffed with ‘lucky money’ alongside positive wishes.
Most teenagers now have red envelope apps, so their relatives can transfer gifts for the digital age.
Which animal features for 2018?
2018 is the Year of the Dog.
The Chinese zodiac moves in a 12-year cycle, and those born in 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, and 2018 are also known as Dogs.
According to the Asian astrology, your year of birth – and the animal that represents it – determines a lot about your personality traits.
Although each of the twelve animals gets an outing every dozen years, there are different varieties – and 2018 will be the first Year of the Earth Dog since 1958.
Anyone born in an Earth Dog year will be communicative, serious, and responsible in the workplace.
Which Chinese zodiac animal are you?
The Chinese animal zodiac, or shengxiao (/shnng-sshyaoww/ ‘born resembling’), is a cycle of 12 years that repeats, with each year being represented by an animal and its reputed attributes. The animal changes at the beginning of the Chinese New Year. Following the tradition, all these animals were used to date the years that followed.
Those born in January and February take care: Chinese (Lunar) New Year moves between 21st January and February 20th. If you were born in January or February, check whether your birth date falls before or after Chinese New Year to know what your Chinese zodiac year is.
This year it will be celebrated today – Friday 16th February.
Chinese Zodiac Chart
What do the Chinese New Year animals represent?
Dog – honesty, loyalty.
Pig – friendliness, laziness.
Rat – adaptable, excellent intuition.
Ox – conscientious, high sense of morality.
Tiger – courage, unpredictability, stubbornness.
Rabbit – impulsive, compassionate, modest.
Dragon – confidence, wit, dominance.
Snake – intelligence, wisdom, privacy.
Horse – popularity, being a bit of a free spirit, hard work, intelligence.
Goat (or Ram) – kindness, sensitivity, politeness, creativity.
Monkey – wit, intelligence.
Rooster – Independence, punctuality.
The Dog, Pig, Ox, Horse, Goat (or Ram) and Rooster, are six of the main domestic animals. Also beloved by the Chinese are Rat, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake and Monkey. The definition of yin or the yang of the animals is based on the odd or even number of their claws (or toes, hoofs). The animals are then arranged in an alternating (complementary) yin-yang sequence.
Usually an animal has the same number of claws on its front and rear legs. However the rat has four toes on its fore legs and five on its hind legs. There is an old saying that goes, “a thing is valued in proportion to its rarity”, so it makes the Rat rank first of the 12 zodiac animals. It uniquely combines the attributes of odd (yang) and even (yin). 4 + 5 = 9, and yang is dominant, so the Rat is classified as odd (yang) overall.
They were then arranged into an alternating Yin and Yang sequence.
Best foot forward for this year!
Whatever your Chinese sign is, we wish you all the very best for the Chinese Year of the Dog!
