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Calendar-Others

Chinese Calendar
See also     Chinese Calendar
Chinese new year is celebrated on 23 Jan 2012. In the year 2012, the Chinese year 4709th begins on January 23, 2012. This day in Chinese time zone is a New Moon day and is their first day of Chinese Lunar Month.

The Chinese all over the world are celebrating the New Year with a new sign, the Dragon. Chinese families celebrates Chinese New Year by using a different mix of their traditions, beliefs, superstitions, lucky signs and charms.

According to Chinese legend, a long time ago, the gods called together all the animals on the planet, and told them that there will be a race. The first twelve winners will be included in a special list that they were coming up with. So on the chosen date, all the animals lined up and
started to race each other. Being the smallest, the rat was able to weave its way through and under all the other animals and ended up crossing the finish line first. Next came the ox, followed by the tiger, then the rabbit, then the dragon, then the snake, then the horse, then the goat, then the monkey, then the rooster, then the dog, and lastly, the pig. That's how those twelve animals ended up representing the twelve animal signs of the Chinese zodiac, each with its own specific characteristics.

For the Chinese, the dragon is the luckiest and most auspicious of all the animal signs. Chinese parents want their kids to get married in the
Year of the Dragon. Chinese couples rush to make "dragon babies" because they're supposed to be lucky. You can just imagine the number of Chinese babies that will be born this year.

In addition, for Chinese, new year meant decorating and wearing red, having lots of food at home, attending fireworks and parades, and having lots of red envelopes with money inside. There would be round fruits for lots of money, and pineapples for prosperity. A big
fried fish would also be present because fish supposedly represented abundance. The highlight of the lantern festival is the dragon dance. The dragon-which might stretch a hundred feet long-is typically made of silk, paper, and bamboo.

A lot of Chinese also make it a point to visit Chinese temples on Chinese New Year's Eve to offer incense, pray to their ancestors and
consult the resident geomancer about their fortunes for the coming year. Chinese families also visits their friends and relatives, and
participate in the lantern festival. Families also clean their homes, because they feel that it will remove bad luck and ill-fortunes.

The Chinese New Year is celebrated in China, Taiwan, Bhutan, Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and Chinatowns around the globe. Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. It usually lasts for three days.

2007 - Chinese Year Of The Chicken - Bird Flu Devastates Parts Of Asia
2008 - Chinese Year Of The Horse - Equine Influenza Decimates Australian Racing
2009 - Chinese Year Of The Pig - Swine Flu - Thousands Of Pigs Killed Worldwide.
Has any one else noticed this? It gets worse....... .
2012 - Chinese Year Of The Cock - The Year of Black Dragon or Water Dragon - What could possibly go wrong......
 

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