“ Year of the Monkey”

Chinese New Year is also known as ‘Spring Festival’ or ‘Lunar New Year’. This time it has brought "Year of the Monkey".

It is the time for people to feel lively and joyful. This fantastico colorful festival enjoyed by people with lion dances, dragon dances, family gatherings, fireworks and giving red envelopes.

Red color holds a strong importance to the Chinese beliefs. There is a secret behind it. Secret lies in the legend which recommends decoration with red color.

Legend:

There was a beast known as ‘Nian’ who ate villagers’ especially little children. Villagers used to fear from Nian. In order to protect themselves, villagers started to prepare food for Nian. They started to put that food in front of their door. After eating the food, Nian didn’t harm village people. Once a god visited a villager, he told him to put red paper on the walls and to place firecrackers. Villager wanted to take revenge from Nian and hence they did it. They frightened Nian with firecrackers and got to know that Nian is afraid of color red and firecrackers. When New Year was about to come, they started wearing red clothes and hanging red lanterns with red spring hanging on windows and doors.

Categorizing Years with Animals

According to Chinese calendar, every year is associated with an animal. There are twelve zodiac signs in Chinese astrology as in western astrology but the fact that differs both is that western zodiac sign represents 12 months and hence shows 12 month cycle. On the other hand, Chinese zodiac signs are linked with years and thus follow a 12 years cycle. There are twelve animal associated which gives a unique meaning to every year.

Chinese zodiac is based on four pillars. These pillars are year, month, day and hour. These four pillars determines the personality of a person depending upon the year, month, day and hour in which he/she is born. As animals are assigned to different years, months and hours,nature and behavior of those animals reveals the exact personality of a person.

Children who’ll be born this year will appear energetic and versatile as monkey to the outer world. The months in which they’ll be born signify their 'inner animal', day of birth will tell their 'true animal' and hours will tell the 'secret animal' inside them. This year is of much importance and delight to the people born in monkey years.

This zodiac forms a cycle of 12 years. But exact alike years arise after 60 years. It is because firstly there are 12 years cycle of animal zodiac to define a year, then to categorize it there is a 10 years cycle of five heavenly stems namely fire, metal, earth, wood and water which is rotated after a period of 2 years each. Further every year is linked with either yin or yang alternatively.

This year 2016 is a year of monkey. Specifically it is year of Yang Fire Monkey which is repeated after a cycle of 60 years. Last time, this same year was 1955 and the New Year day was January 24. Thus people who have their birth year Yang Fire Monkey will be believed to be the luckiest this year!