Chinese New Year - wringing in year 4706
February 7th is the first day of the Chinese New Year (CNY), which means it’s time to say farewell to the year of the PIG (2007) and hello to the year of the RAT (2008)! Unlike the “American” New Year, the Chinese celebration lasts for a whopping 15 days – ending with the Lantern Festival. Red is a popular color during CNY as legend suggests it can drive away bad luck and evil spirits (eg, people wear red clothes, decorate poems on red paper, give children red envelopes filled with “lucky money”).
This is an exciting year for us because it looks as though the year of the Rat will be the year that we will (finally) get to travel to
So what’s with the animals? Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve animals showed up, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality.
Rat: quick-witted, smart, charming, and persuasive
Ox: patient, kind, stubborn, and conservative
Tiger: authoritative, emotional, courageous, and intense
Rabbit: popular, compassionate, and sincere
Dragon: energetic, fearless, warm-hearted, and charismatic
Snake: charming, gregarious, introverted, generous, and smart
Horse: energetic, independent, impatient, and enjoy traveling
Sheep: mild-mannered, shy, kind, and peace-loving
Monkey: fun, energetic, and active
Rooster: independent, practical, hard-working, and observant
Dog: patient, diligent, generous, faithful, and kind
Pig: loving, tolerant, honest, and appreciative of luxury
Although, we won’t know for sure until we’re matched in the upcoming months (best guess at this point is May/June referral), we’re guessing that Zoe was likely born in either the year of the Pig (2007) or Dog (2006).
Of interest, Beth was also born during a DOG year… Avery was born in 2003 during the year of the RAM (aka sheep, goat) and Mike was born during the year of the OX.
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