The Nature of Things

I'm a day late with this but Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy New Year! Yesterday, February 8, marked the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which this year is the Year of the Fire Monkey. The Chinese calendar assigns an animal entity to each year on a rotating zodiac of twelve animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. Based on their reading of astrology, each of those animals controls certain characteristics that are attributed to people who are born in their years. Thus, people born in a Year of the Monkey are said to be intelligent, witty, curious, and playful.  Can you see that I'm blushing as I type that? Yes, it's true. I was born in a Year of the Monkey  mumble, mumble  years ago, so this is my year! I'm looking forward to it.  Though China officially operates on the international Gregorian calendar, this traditional lunisolar calendar still has ceremonial significance for them. Every year around the new moon closes...

It is New Year's Day of the year 4712 in the Chinese calendar . It is the beginning of the Year of the Horse. So happy New Year! The Chinese calendar is an interesting way of perceiving and reckoning the passage of time. The month is determined by the phases of the moon. Each month begins with a New Moon, the darkest time of the moon's passage. Last night saw a New Moon and so today begins the New Year. Chinese New Year festivities are not just a one day or one night affair. They start on the first day of the month and last until the fifteenth, when the moon is full and at its brightest. Traditionally, the Chinese people might take weeks to prepare for and celebrate this holiday, and, in some places, they still do. One of the most interesting things - to me - about the Chinese calendar is the concept of naming each year after an animal and attributing to people born in that year the supposed characteristics of that animal. Those born in one of the Years of the Horse, for exampl...

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year! Today marks the New Moon in the lunar cycle which means that it is the Chinese New Year's Day and this is an especially propitious year - the Year of the Dragon. The Chinese lunar calendar recognizes a twelve year cycle, each characterized by a particular animal: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. As you will see from looking at a list of these animals, they are all real except for the dragon. Dragons are mythical creatures and they are the most powerful of all the animals in the Chinese calendar. As such, years dominated by the dragon are generally considered lucky years. To be born in a Year of the Dragon should be especially fortuitous and the Chinese are expecting a baby boom this year . Persons born in such a year are said to be innovative, enterprising, flexible, self-assured, brave, and passionate. That's quite a set of positive attributes! On the other hand, being possessed of ...