Happy Chinese (Lunar) New year eve - the year of the snake!

 

The Year of the Snake!

Happy New Year

Sunday, February 10, 2013

 

 

 

Tonight is New Year's Eve in Singapore and many Asian counties.  It is a time for family members to get together at each others homes for a very special meal, called the reunion dinner.

Gift giving is also an important part of Chinese New Year.  The most common gift is boxes of oranges, or live orange trees.  Little red packets called Ang-poh filled with crisp new money are given to children, single adults, and the elderly.  I love these envelopes and I use them all year round for crafts and gifts.

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, falls in the months of January or February, and each new year is represented by 1 of the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. 

Legend says that many many years ago Buddha asked all animals to meet him on Chinese New Year.  Twelve came, and he named a year after each one.  He declared that people born in each animal's year would have some traits  of that animal's personality.   2103 is the year of the snake.

Which of 12 animals are you (see chart below)?  The animal is tied to the year you were born.  I am a Dragon, which was last year.  It was lucky to be in Singapore for our first year during my Zodiac year.

Rat	1924	1936	1948	1960	1972	1984	1996	2008
Ox	1925	1937	1949	1961	1973	1985	1997	2009
Tiger	1926	1938	1950	1962	1974	1986	1998	2010
Rabbit	1927	1939	1951	1963	1975	1987	1999	2011
Dragon	1928	1940	1952	1964	1976	1988	2000	2012
Snake	1929	1941	1953	1965	1977	1989	2001	2013
Horse	1930	1942	1954	1966	1978	1990	2002	2014
Sheep	1931	1943	1955	1967	1979	1991	2003	2015
Monkey	1932	1944	1956	1968	1980	1992	2004	2016
Rooster	1933	1945	1957	1969	1981	1993	2005	2017
Dog	1934	1946	1958	1970	1982	1994	2006	2018
Pig	1935	1947	1959	1971	1983	1995	2007	2019

 

If you google your sign, you can get your horoscope for the year.   Mine said 2013 should be a lucky year for me... if I can stay calm  :  ) 

Because Chinese New Year falls on a Sunday this year, Monday and Tuesday are public holidays here.  This means D has a 4 day weekend!

Check back tomorrow for more tidbits about Chinese new year.

Comments

[Kathy @ Katalina Jewelry]

Oh dear! I'm a rat! Not too happy about that! LOL

[Kathy]

Thank you for sharing this. I have never known what animal I am. Googled for my horoscope and OMG, I could not believe how accurate it sounded for my current circumstances!!