The Chinese New Year has always been the time of year when deities and ancestors are honoured, and these celebrations are older than the Great Wall of China itself.
These days, just like the western world, they celebrate the beginning of a new year too, although with a lot more thought and meaning than perhaps most of us do.
There is an interesting folktale about how the order of the twelve animals was determined.
The legend goes that the Jade Emperor ordered all the animals that inhabited the earth to congratulate him on his birthday on January 9th one year. He determined to select the 12 animals that arrived first to be guards of the Heavenly Gate, so they could take turns on duty in order to prevent deities from secretly descending to the earth.
All the animals were very excited, itching to start upon hearing the good news. The Jade Emperor made a rule that all animals would run across a river, and each animal’s position in the zodiac would be set by its place in the race.
Although the cat and the rat were neighbours, the former always bullied the latter, and the rat felt very angry but dared not say it aloud; therefore, he sought his revenge on the cat. The rat chuckled to himself upon hearing the Jade Emperor’s decree and he thought to himself: “This is an opportunity”.
The sleepyhead cat kicked the rat’s door open, ordering the rat to keep him informed about when he was going to the Jade Emperor’s birthday party, and the rat readily promised that he would.
The rat promised to do so; however, he was so excited that he left quietly without informing the cat on the morning of January 9th. All the other animals gathered at the bank of a river and the race began.
Early as he was, the rat had to stop by the river owing to the swift current. Having waited for a long time, the rat saw the ox crossing the river, so he swiftly jumped into the ox’s ear.
The kindhearted ox did not mind at all and kept on crossing the river. After crossing it, he ran towards the palace of the Jade Emperor.
Suddenly, the rat jumped out of the ox’s ear and rushed to the feet of the Jade Emperor; therefore, he won the first place, followed by the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon (an imaginary Chinese dragon), snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and the pig. These twelve animals became guards of the Heavenly Gate.
The cat didn’t wake up until the race was over and it was too late — he was not able to make it into the cycle. After the party, a great enmity grew between the cat and the rat, so the rats scattered in all directions when a cat appeared.
The Chinese people created the twelve Chinese zodiac signs according to the arrival order of the 12 animals, and each zodiac sign is designated to a specific year, so the same zodiac sign returns every 12 years.
Chinese years come in cycles of twelve; all assigned an animal according to the characteristics of the year. Just like our zodiac, really but seems a lot more scientific somehow.
Last year was the year of the Goat. A passive, non-eventful year, leading us into the year of the Monkey, which promises to be a far more interesting 12 months.
People born in a year of the Monkey are witty, intelligent, and have a magnetic personality. Personality traits, like mischievousness, curiosity, and cleverness, make them very naughty. Monkeys are masters of practical jokes, because they like playing most of the time. Though they don’t have any bad intentions, their pranks sometimes hurt the feelings of others. Monkeys are fast learners and crafty opportunists.
In Chinese astrology, I was born in the year of the monkey, which is supposed to mean I am crazy smart? Insanely intelligent? In addition, a lateral thinker. The monkey is not keen on doing things the hard way (sure I’m a monkey?) However, it is true I will always look for a short cut.
So you would think this year would be good for me?
Apparently not. According to Chinese astrology, the year of the Monkey could be an unlucky year for those born in a monkey year. I decided to investigate further, well you would wouldn’t you?
I discovered that it wasn’t all bad. My health will be good, nice to hear after the rotten start I had already, so where was all the bad luck?
Usually Monkeys are very healthy, partly due to their active lifestyles, and wanting to experience the flavours of life. If they do experience illness, it is usually of the nervous or circulatory system. People born in a year of the Monkey often spend more time at work.
Therefore, Monkeys need to remember to take breaks to save their energy during their busy schedules. Since Monkeys usually do more outdoor activities, they should pay attention to safety, and while traveling or driving.
When it comes to their careers, Monkeys work very hard. They can adapt to different working environments. Good career choices for monkeys are accounting and banking, science, engineering, stock market trading, air traffic control, film directing, jewellery, and salesmanship.
So, as long as I avoid cars, I should make it through till next year!
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