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The Chinese Zodiac

An Eva "China Page"

A Feature of Anderson's Abode

[ A China Adoption Resource Site ]

2006 is the "Year of the Dog"

Chinese New Year 2006 - Year of the Dog - Lunar Year 4704

This year, the Chinese New Year Date is January 29, 2006.

The festivities get under way from 22 days prior
to the New Year date and continue for 15 days after.

Learn "More About the Dog"

* * Happy - 4704 ** " Chinese New Year Greetings"

* Chinese Astrology *

Like our own western Astrology, Chinese astrology uses twelve different signs or symbols to define twelve basic categories of a human being. Similar to Western Astrology, the Chinese system uses a person's birth date as the basis of his sign so in some ways the two systems are alike. Chinese Astrology looks to philosophy, the calendar, the cosmos and the rhythms of nature for it's ideas and predictions about events and character.

Chinese zodiacal signs are yearly, each Chinese sign has a different animal name and corresponds to a period equivalent to an entire Chinese Calendar year. In Chinese Astrology there are no intricate charts to draw up or elusive rising signs to calculate, but there is one tricky aspect to consider. The Chinese New Year falls on a different date every year. This holiday can occur as early as mid-January or not until late February.

For Additional Information about Chinese New Year 2006,

Check out these Web Sites.  [wikipedia]  [web-holidays]

For additional web sites devoted to Fun Activities for

the younger person, check out our "Just For Fun" page *.

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* The Chinese Calendar *

Each Chinese Lunar Calendar Year is represented by one of 12 animals. Five cycles of the 12 years make up one complete cycle of 60 years. When a Chinese reaches his/her 60th birthday, he/she usually celebrates it with large banquet because he/she completed a full cycle. The order of the 12 animals is as follows: Year of the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram or Sheep, Monkey, Rooster or Chicken, Dog, and lastly, the Year of the Boar or Pig.

The Chinese

Zodiac Wheel

Click "Wheel" to view larger image

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To find out which Zodiac Sign represents your Chinese Year of Birth,

To read about your sign and it's characteristics, click on the appropriate animal.

Rat	Ox	Tiger	Rabbit	Dragon	Snake

Horse	Ram	Monkey	Rooster	Dog	Pig

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The Chinese Legend of the Twelve Zodiac Animals

Legend has it that many centuries ago, the Chinese had no means to measure time. Jade Emperor, the Emperor of Heaven, decided to arrange a contest. He invited all animals to a race on his birthday. The first 12 animals who cross the swift current river and reach the designated shore would be assigned to the 12 Zodiac Years.

The cat and the rat, who were once good friends and poor swimmers, convinced the ox to carry them across the river. Being naive, gullible, good-natured, the powerful swimmer ox agreed. As they were crossing the river, the rat was worried that the cat might win the race; so the rat pushed the cat into the river. This explains why cats hate rats, because they never forgave the rat for the incident. Right before the ox and the rat reached the shore, the rat jumped off the ox's back and took first place in the race.

As the Jade Emperor named the ox as the 2nd zodiac animal, the tiger reached the finished line. Panting his way toward the Jade Emperor, the tiger explained that he had difficulty crossing the river because the current kept pushing him down stream. With his powerful strength, he was able to reach the shore safely. The Emperor recorded the tiger as the 3rd zodiac animal.

From a distance, the crowd heard a thumping noise. Twitching its pinkish nose, the rabbit told the crowd that he had to hop from one stone to another in order to cross the river. Luckily, he was able to get hold of a floating log which finally washed him to shore. The Emperor named the rabbit, the 4th zodiac animal.

In the 5th place came the dragon flying and belching fire in the air. Jade Emperor was very curious as to why the dragon came in late for he can fly and swim. Because the mighty dragon could not bare to see his people and all the creatures on earth suffer a drought, he had to stop to make rain. When he reached the river, he spotted a helpless little rabbit clutching tightly to a log, so he gave a little puff and blew the log with the rabbit on it to the shore.

Just as the Jade Emperor complimented the dragon for his consideration, he heard the horse whining and galloping. From out of  the horse's hoof sneaked a shrewd slimy snake. The sudden appearance and the hissing of the snake startled the horse and made him jump backwards, thus forcing the horse to fall in 7th place and the snake to take the 6th place in the race.

From a distance, approached the sheep, the monkey, and the rooster. The rooster proudly described how he had spotted a raft from a high ground, picked up the sheep, and the monkey. Along the way, the monkey and the sheep helped clear the weeds, pulled and pushed the raft to the shore. The Emperor complimented the trios for their combined efforts and named the sheep the 8th of the zodiac animals, the monkey the 9th, and the rooster the 10th.

Just as the Emperor was making the record official, next came the dog . The dog was trying to justify to the Emperor why, being one of the best swimmers, he was late. It turned out that the dog hadn't had a bath for a long time. The river water was so clean and fresh that he had to stop. The dog was recorded as the 11th zodiac animal.

Jade Emperor was about to dismiss the crowd and retire from the long day when he heard an oink and a squeal from the little pig who was waddling down the path. Needless to explain, the pig was hungry during the race and he stopped for a feast. After the feast, he felt tired and took a little nap. The little pig made it as the last of the 12th zodiac animals.

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* Another Version of the legend *

The origins of the 12 animals of Chinese astrology are unclear. One legend holds that Buddha invited all the earth's animals to a gathering before his final departure, and these 12 were the only animals that showed up.

As a token of his appreciation, Buddha named a year after each of them in the order in which they arrived. Another legend says the Jade Emperor held a race to determine the fastest animals.

The Emperor had decided the first 12 animals to cross the Chosen River would represent the 12 earthly branches that make up the cyclical order of years on the lunar calendar.

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