Chinese Calendar
The New Year
Midnight of February 1, 2003 marks the beginning of the year 4701 in China - The Year of the Ram or the Goat. In 1997 it was the year of the Ox or Buffalo, and in 1998 it was the year of the Tiger). The Chinese New Year is celebrated at the time of the second new moon after the Winter Solstice and will vary from year to year. The Chinese Almanac printed in 2256 BCE ( called "Red and Black") is the oldest book in continual print in the world. The first publication is attributed to Huang-ti, the Yellow Emporer.
The Great Year
The calendar is based on a sixty year cycle. An epoch is calculated as 60 x 60 or 3,600 years. Each sixty year cycle is divided into five Great Years of twelve years each -- 60/5 = 12. These years are numbered in order and are called branches. Each is given the name of an animal: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep or Goat, Monkey, Cock, Dog, Pig.
The Jupiter Cycle
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The twenty-eight month constellations are called stems. Twelve years is the equivalent of Jupiter's orbit around the Sun, that is, it takes Jupiter twelve (earth) years to make one revolution of the Sun. The Chinese call Jupiter "sui hsing," "the year star" or "the star". One characteristic of Jupiter is that from the vantage point of Earth, the planet appears to move in a direction opposite that of the Sun. The year 1993 - The Year of the Rooster was the 10th year of Jupiter Cycle. The year 1994 - The Year of the Dog marked the 11th year of the Jupiter Cycle; 1997 - marked the second year of the Jupiter Cycle. | |||||||
The Year Animals
In Chinese tradition, the twelve animals are those who bade farewell to the Buddha upon his leaving this world. The Chinese astrologers attribute certain characteristics to individuals born in particular years. Sheep or Goat years are not fortuitous because they are animals for slaughter. Monkey years are considered to be lucky. Those born in Ox years tend to be traditional, stay-at-home types. The year of the Hare is a time of calm and peaceful leisure. Hare's lunar connection is that it takes 28 days, one lunar month, before the newborn hare is ready to leave it's mother. Hare's consort Ch'ang-o is a moon goddess and protector of children.