Chinese New Year Explained
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Last updated: Wednesday December 28th, 2022
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Last updated: Wednesday December 28th, 2022
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Introduction
大家好！春节马上来了，所以我要写一篇关于新年的文章。
---Apologies for my bad Chinese, I haven't taken Chinese class in years (don't show this to my parents)---
The Lunisolar Calendar Explained
Zoom In:
Look at January 3rd. Under it in small text is 十二月/1, which in English means twevleth month, and is the first of that month. Under 4 is 初二/2, which translates to something like "second day" (if you don't speak Chinese, there is a number next to the Chinese). Now, let's go to February. February 1st has red text under it, reading 春節. 春 means "spring" and 節 means "festival" so you could say that 春節 translates to "spring festival." But most people know it by another name: Chinese New Year.
The Great Race and order of creatures
Most of the animals joined the race, wanting a zodiac year. The ox, cat, and rat made an agreement to ride on to of the ox, as they were small and had a hard time getting through water. When they were around halfway through, the cat fell asleep, and sensing an opportunity, the rat pushed the cat off the ox. Then, as the ox and the mouse were approaching the finnish line, the rat jumped off the ox, getting first place. The ox got second place. (I will talk about the cat later). The tiger came third, the rabbit fourth, and the dragon fifth, who stopped to help some other animals. The snake was next, who, according to legend, used to have four legs, but lost them while it was running towards the finish line. The horse was next, who galloped in the water, and would have came sixth, but was startled by the snake, who got past. Then was the chicken, monkey, and sheep, who worked together, and decided because of how much work they did, the sheep would get eighth, the monkey ninth, and the rooster tenth. In eleventh was the dog, and finally, in twevleth place came the pig, who had stopped to eat and take a nap. When the cat, who had previously been knocked off, got to the finnish line and found out it had gotten thirteenth place and thus didn't get a zodiac year, it was furious at the rat. This is, according to the legend, why cats don't like rats.
So, as a recap, here is the order of finishers:
| Placement | Creature |
| 1st | Rat |
| 2nd | Ox |
| 3rd | Tiger |
| 4th | Rabbit |
| 5th | Dragon |
| 6th | Snake |
| 7th | Horse |
| 8th | Goat |
| 9th | Monkey |
| 10th | Rooster |
| 11th | Dog |
| 12th | Pig |
What are you?
So, now we know the 12 animals. But there is much more. There are 10 heavenly stems (甲，乙，丙，丁，戊，己，庚，辛，壬，癸) that rotate in that order, 12 earthly branches (子，丑，寅，卯，辰，巳，午，未，申，酉，戌，亥）that each correspond to the animal in that numbered position (子 is rat, 丑 is ox, etc.). Every year is either Yin or Yang, switching each year, and to cap it all off, there are 5 elements that can be associated with a year: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The cycle is as goes: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. Okay, here is a table of years and elements. Let's pretend that it didn't take 12 hours to make:
| Date (1924-1983) | Time (1984-2044) | Animal | Heavenly Stem | Yin/Yang | Element | Earthly Branch |
| Feb 05, 1924 – Jan 23 1925 | Feb 02, 1984 – Feb 19 1985 | Rat | 子 | Yang | Wood | 甲 |
| Jan 24, 1925 – Feb 12, 1926 | Feb 20, 1985 – Feb 08, 1986 | Ox | 丑 | Yin | Wood | 乙 |
| Feb 13, 1926 – Feb 01, 1927 | Feb 09, 1986 – Jan 28, 1987 | Tiger | 寅 | Yang | Fire | 丙 |
| Feb 02, 1927 – Jan 22, 1928 | Jan 29, 1987 – Feb 16, 1988 | Rabbit | 卯 | Yin | Fire | 丁 |
| Jan 23, 1928 – Feb 09, 1929 | Feb 17, 1988 – Feb 05, 1989 | Dragon | 辰 | Yang | Earth | 戊 |
| Feb 10, 1929 – Jan 29, 1930 | Feb 06, 1989 – Jan 26, 1990 | Snake | 巳 | Yin | Earth | 己 |
| Jan 30, 1930 – Feb 16, 1931 | Jan 27, 1990 – Feb 14, 1991 | Horse | 午 | Yang | Metal | 庚 |
| Feb 17, 1931 – Feb 05, 1932 | Feb 15, 1991 – Feb 03, 1992 | Goat | 未 | Yin | Metal | 辛 |
| Feb 06, 1932 – Jan 25, 1933 | Feb 04, 1992 – Jan 22, 1993 | Monkey | 申 | Yang | Water | 壬 |
| Jan 26, 1933 – Feb 13, 1934 | Jan 23, 1993 – Feb 09, 1994 | Rooster | 酉 | Yin | Water | 癸 |
| Feb 14, 1934 – Feb 03, 1935 | Feb 10, 1994 – Jan 30, 1995 | Dog | 戌 | Yang | Wood | 甲 |
| Feb 04, 1935 – Jan 23, 1936 | Jan 31, 1995 – Feb 18, 1996 | Pig | 亥 | Yin | Wood | 乙 |
| Jan 24, 1936 – Feb 10, 1937 | Feb 19, 1996 – Feb 06, 1997 | Rat | 子 | Yang | Fire | 丙 |
| Feb 11, 1937 – Jan 30, 1938 | Feb 07, 1997 – Jan 27, 1998 | Ox | 丑 | Yin | Fire | 丁 |
| Jan 31, 1938 – Feb 18, 1939 | Jan 28, 1998 – Feb 15, 1999 | Tiger | 寅 | Yang | Earth | 戊 |
| Feb 19, 1939 – Feb 07, 1940 | Feb 16, 1999 – Feb 04, 2000 | Rabbit | 卯 | Yin | Earth | 己 |
| Feb 08, 1940 – Jan 26, 1941 | Feb 05, 2000 – Jan 23, 2001 | Dragon | 辰 | Yang | Metal | 庚 |
| Jan 27, 1941 – Feb 14, 1942 | Jan 24, 2001 – Feb 11, 2002 | Snake | 巳 | Yin | Metal | 辛 |
| Feb 15, 1942 – Feb 04, 1943 | Feb 12, 2002 – Jan 31, 2003 | Horse | 午 | Yang | Water | 壬 |
| Feb 05, 1943 – Jan 24, 1944 | Feb 01, 2003 – Jan 21, 2004 | Goat | 未 | Yin | Water | 癸 |
| Jan 25, 1944 – Feb 12, 1945 | Jan 22, 2004 – Feb 08, 2005 | Monkey | 申 | Yang | Wood | 甲 |
| Feb 13, 1945 – Feb 01, 1946 | Feb 09, 2005 – Jan 28, 2006 | Rooster | 酉 | Yin | Wood | 乙 |
| Feb 02, 1946 – Jan 21, 1947 | Jan 29, 2006 – Feb 17, 2007 | Dog | 戌 | Yang | Fire | 丙 |
| Jan 22, 1947 – Feb 09, 1948 | Feb 18, 2007 – Feb 06, 2008 | Pig | 亥 | Yin | Fire | 丁 |
| Feb 10, 1948 – Jan 28, 1949 | Feb 07, 2008 – Jan 25, 2009 | Rat | 子 | Yang | Earth | 戊 |
| Jan 29, 1949 – Feb 16, 1950 | Jan 26, 2009 – Feb 13, 2010 | Ox | 丑 | Yin | Earth | 己 |
| Feb 17, 1950 – Feb 05, 1951 | Feb 14, 2010 – Feb 02, 2011 | Tiger | 寅 | Yang | Metal | 庚 |
| Feb 06, 1951 – Jan 26, 1952 | Feb 03, 2011 – Jan 22, 2012 | Rabbit | 卯 | Yin | Metal | 辛 |
| Jan 27, 1952 – Feb 13, 1953 | Jan 23, 2012 – Feb 09, 2013 | Dragon | 辰 | Yang | Water | 壬 |
| Feb 14, 1953 – Feb 02, 1954 | Feb 10, 2013 – Jan 30, 2014 | Snake | 巳 | Yin | Water | 癸 |
| Feb 03, 1954 – Jan 23, 1955 | Jan 31, 2014 – Feb 18, 2015 | Horse | 午 | Yang | Wood | 甲 |
| Jan 24, 1955 – Feb 11, 1956 | Feb 19 2015 – Feb 07, 2016 | Goat | 未 | Yin | Wood | 乙 |
| Feb 12, 1956 – Jan 30, 1957 | Feb 08, 2016 – Jan 27, 2017 | Monkey | 申 | Yang | Fire | 丙 |
| Jan 31, 1957 – Feb 17, 1958 | Jan 28, 2017 – Feb 15, 2018 | Rooster | 酉 | Yin | Fire | 丁 |
| Feb 18, 1958 – Feb 07, 1959 | Feb 16, 2018 – Feb 04, 2019 | Dog | 戌 | Yang | Earth | 戊 |
| Feb 08, 1959 – Jan 27, 1960 | Feb 05, 2019 – Jan 24, 2020 | Pig | 亥 | Yin | Earth | 己 |
| Jan 28, 1960 – Feb 14, 1961 | Jan 25, 2020 – Feb 11, 2021 | Rat | 子 | Yang | Metal | 庚 |
| Feb 15, 1961 – Feb 04, 1962 | Feb 12, 2021 – Jan 31, 2022 | Ox | 丑 | Yin | Metal | 辛 |
| Feb 05, 1962 – Jan 24, 1963 | Feb 01, 2022 – Jan 21, 2023 | Tiger | 寅 | Yang | Water | 壬 |
| Jan 25, 1963 – Feb 12, 1964 | Jan 22, 2023 – Feb 09, 2024 | Rabbit | 卯 | Yin | Water | 癸 |
| Feb 13, 1964 – Feb 01, 1965 | Feb 10, 2024 – Jan 28, 2025 | Dragon | 辰 | Yang | Wood | 甲 |
| Feb 02, 1965 – Jan 20, 1966 | Jan 29, 2025 – Feb 16, 2026 | Snake | 巳 | Yin | Wood | 乙 |
| Jan 21, 1966 – Feb 08, 1967 | Feb 17, 2026 – Feb 05, 2027 | Horse | 午 | Yang | Fire | 丙 |
| Feb 09, 1967 – Jan 29, 1968 | Feb 06, 2027 – Jan 25, 2028 | Goat | 未 | Yin | Fire | 丁 |
| Jan 30, 1968 – Feb 16, 1969 | Jan 26, 2028 – Feb 12, 2029 | Monkey | 申 | Yang | Earth | 戊 |
| Feb 17, 1969 – Feb 05, 1970 | Feb 13, 2029 – Feb 02, 2030 | Rooster | 酉 | Yin | Earth | 己 |
| Feb 06, 1970 – Jan 26, 1971 | Feb 03, 2030 – Jan 22, 2031 | Dog | 戌 | Yang | Metal | 庚 |
| Jan 27, 1971 – Feb 14, 1972 | Jan 23, 2031 – Feb 10, 2032 | Pig | 亥 | Yin | Metal | 辛 |
| Feb 15, 1972 – Feb 02, 1973 | Feb 11, 2032 – Jan 30, 2033 | Rat | 子 | Yang | Water | 壬 |
| Feb 03, 1973 – Jan 22, 1974 | Jan 31, 2033 – Feb 18, 2034 | Ox | 丑 | Yin | Water | 癸 |
| Jan 23, 1974 – Feb 10, 1975 | Feb 19, 2034 – Feb 07, 2035 | Tiger | 寅 | Yang | Wood | 甲 |
| Feb 11, 1975 – Jan 30, 1976 | Feb 08, 2035 – Jan 27, 2036 | Rabbit | 卯 | Yin | Wood | 乙 |
| Jan 31, 1976 – Feb 17, 1977 | Jan 28, 2036 – Feb 14, 2037 | Dragon | 辰 | Yang | Fire | 丙 |
| Feb 18, 1977 – Feb 06, 1978 | Feb 15, 2037 – Feb 03, 2038 | Snake | 巳 | Yin | Fire | 丁 |
| Feb 07, 1978 – Jan 27, 1979 | Feb 04, 2038 – Jan 23, 2039 | Horse | 午 | Yang | Earth | 戊 |
| Jan 28, 1979 – Feb 15, 1980 | Jan 24, 2039 – Feb 11, 2040 | Goat | 未 | Yin | Earth | 己 |
| Feb 16, 1980 – Feb 04, 1981 | Feb 12, 2041 – Jan 21, 2042 | Monkey | 申 | Yang | Metal | 庚 |
| Feb 05, 1981 – Jan 24, 1982 | Feb 01, 2041 – Jan 21, 2042 | Rooster | 酉 | Yin | Metal | 辛 |
| Jan 25, 1982 – Feb 12, 1983 | Feb 10, 2043 – Jan 29, 2044 | Dog | 戌 | Yang | Water | 壬 |
| Feb 13, 1983 – Feb 01, 1984 | Feb 10, 2043 – Jan 29, 2044 | Pig | 亥 | Yin | Water | 癸 |
Rat
Rats are generally considered to be quick-witted and smart, but sometimes lack the courage to do things. Rats are ambitious and work very hard to reach goals.Ox
Oxen are considered to be strong, trustworthy, and patient. Oxen are very determined but can also be very stubborn. Oxen were used in agriculture in ancient times, and were hard working.Tiger
Tigers are powerful, tough, determined, and confident, but also talkative, stubborn, and aggressive. In the real world, Tigers are fierce hunters.Rabbit
Rabbits are the luckiest of all the creatures. They are much more peaceful, and are artistic and creative. Rabbits are intelligent, but don't like to be criticized.Dragon
The Dragon might be the most wanted creature of the zodiac. Dragons love competition and have a strong will to win. They don't fail very often, but if and when they do, they aren't really happy. Dragons set very high standards, and can be demanding and arrogant but confident and trustworthy.Snake
Snakes are generally considered smart, wise, and charming. They are responsible, creative, and have are good at leadership. However, they can be very suspicious and lazy sometimes.Horse
Horses are generous, willing to share things to others. They are also independent, but can also be stubborn and extravagant, spending money on sometimes unnecessary things.Goat
Goats are one of the less-wanted zodiacs. Goats are hardworking and persistent, but are indecisive, timid, irresponsible, and can be sensitive to unclean food and air.Monkey
Monkeys are very smart and can adapt to many different situations. They are also independent, and honest. They are always positive, but can be irritated very easily.Rooster
Roosters are skilled with what they are doing, consistent in what they do, and ambitious, setting big goals. However, they can be overconfident in what they do and impatient.Dog
Dogs are honest, straightforward, and stubborn at times where it is good to be stubborn. They are loyal, and patient, and active, and are a pretty good zodiac to have.Pig
Pigs are kind, optimistic, and kind-hearted. They can get very stressed when in certain situations, and are gullible and don't have that many friends. Also, when they joke or play pranks, they won't know when to stop.Traditions
Lunar New Year is one of the happiest times of the year for many people in Eastern Asian. Most people go home to celebrate with their families. In Korea, 36 out of 50 million people travel during Lunar New Year. But anyways, most places are closed, including schools, and most students have a few days off. Red and Yellow decorations can be found everywhere. Red is a lucky color in most Asian cultures, and yellow is similar to gold, which means wealth. You can find firecrackers and fireworks, which keep away bad luck. It's important to clean/organize your room, house, or apartment at this time, because that will attract good luck to you. In the big cities, you might be able to find parades, with dragons and dancing lions. Actually, I think there is a good chance of finding parades like these in almost any city that has a substantial Asian population. I’m talking about San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, New York, you know what I mean. But putting all the parades and stuff aside, Chinese New Year lasts either 15 or 16 days depending on the year. On the eve, there is a big feast that everyone in the family joins in. The last day of Chinese New Year is Lantern Festival, where lanterns are released. Children are given little red packets that include money inside.Ending
I hope you enjoyed this article! Here are the sources that I used to make this article: Wikipedia, China Highlights, and the HTML editor I use, trinket
1) I recorded the voiceover
2) I uploaded the file to a mp3 website (one that makes it end in .mp3)
3) I uploaded it with this code:
<audio controls="controls" src="[link of the mp3]">
Anyways, I converted a m4a (which is what my computer records it as) to mp3, then uploaded it, then used an < audio > tag to get it in.
< audio
controls="controls" src="mp3 link"> < / audio >
I also speed readThanks!And we don’t know Quizmaster voice still lolI tried putting an audio on a blog of Minas Gerais, but Stewart said it wasn’t possible. How did you do that!? Hopefully we can have all the HTML for we use here (with no abuse, that is why we have partially the use).
This is amazing. First spot on BG, and the Metallic Artists Award for you :)
And Happy Chinese New Year
Anyway, this was greatly explained and I have to admit the Chinese calendar is much more interesting than the Hindu calendars. I once went to a Chinatown in Calcutta during the Spring Festival and it was pretty cool there. The food was delicious. Chinese food is liked by most Indians! 😋
And a Happy New Year to you!
希望你可以不用翻譯器就看懂我的評論!
這篇太棒了!謝謝!
(Yes I needed a translator)