Chinese New Year of the Dog
22nd January 2006
The Lunar New Year 4704 according to the Chinese calendar is around the corner. While many of you are all busy breaking your annual resolutions, Chinese families the world over are busy preparing for the Spring Festival (that’s the character for Spring you see on the right), as it is also known. Houses are cleaned, cakes and candies are baked or prepared, debts are cleared (although in this day and age, this might not be practical or possible, but people still try), 
new clothes are bought and generally, the anticipation of celebration, good food and drinks and family and friends get-togethers are high.
This is the year of the Dog, the Fire Dog to be exact. The Chinese Lunar calendar is named after animals on a twelve year cycle. The cycle starts with the Rat, followed by the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Sheep, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog and the Pig. The twelve-year cycle is further modified by the five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, making the complete cycle of sixty years. More information can be found here. Read the rest of this entry »
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