Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Happy Chinese New Year

Let Us Learn About Chinese Calendar

Chinese calendar has been in continuous use for centuries, which predates the International Calendar (based on the Gregorian Calendar) we use at the present day which goes back only some 425 years. The calendar measures time, from short durations of minutes and hours, to intervals of time measured in months, years and centuries, entirely based on the astronomical observations of the movement of the Sun, Moon and stars.
What is the Chinese New Year's Day in Year 2008?
February 7, 2008 is the first day of the Chinese new year.
What is the Chinese New Year's Day in Year 2007?
February 18, 2007 is the first day of the Chinese new year.
What is the Chinese New Year's Day in Year 2006?
January 29, 2006 is the first day of the Chinese new year.
There are three ways to name a Chinese year:
By an animal (like a mscot). 2008 is known as the Year of the Rat.There are 12 animal names; so by this system, year names are re-cycled every 12 years. More.
By its Formal Name (Stem-Branch). This year is the year of Wu Zi.
In the 'Stem-Branch' system, the years are named in 60-year cycles, and the Name of the Year is repeated every 60 years.2008 is the 9th year in the current 60-year cycle.
Current year is Year 4705 by the Chinese calendar.
[A few Chinese astrological/zodiac websites believe this year should be considered as Year 4706 for zodiac calculations.]

What's special about the Chinese New Year in 2006?
It was a Leap Year! Unlike the western calendar, where one extra day is added in February, one whole leap month is added in a Chinese Leap Year.
Just think. If you get paid by the month, instead of working an extra day for nothing, you would get an extra month's pay !!!
This time around, the Leap Month comes after the regular 7-th Month. The "Leap Second Month" begins on August 24,2006. Read more about this here And here.
When was the Chinese New Year's Day in Year 2003?
February 1, 2003. It was the first day in the Year of the Ram (sheep, goat).This is Year 4700 by Chinese calendar.
When was the Chinese New Year's Day in Year 2002?
February 12, 2002. It was the first day in the Year of the Horse.It is Year 4699 by Chinese calendar.
For those interested in astrology, it is the year of the Black Horse.
When was the Chinese New Year's Day in Year 2001?
January 24, 2001. This was the first day in the Year of the Snake.This is Year 4698.
[Some says this is Year 4638, which is also plausible. Others claim this year to be either 4699 or 4399, which are almost certainly wrong.]
What's special about the Chinese New Year in 2001?
It was a Leap Year! Unlike the western calendar, where one extra day is added in February, one whole leap month is added in a Chinese Leap Year.
Just think. If you get paid by the month, instead of working an extra day for nothing, you would get an extra month's pay !!!
This time around, the Leap Month comes after the regular 4-th Month. The "Leap 4-th Month" begins on May 23, 2001. More about this...
When was the Chinese New Year's Day in Year 2000?
February 5, 2000. It was the first day in the Year of the Dragon.That year ended on January 23,2001.
When is the Chinese New Year's Day in some other year?
There is a 160-year calendar which gives all the dates from 1900-2060 written by H. Liang. You can download it free from http://lunarcal.tripod.com/Download.html

12 Animals
Each year is also designated by one of the 12 Animals For instance, 2005 is Year of Rooster; 2006 is Year of Dog; and 2007 is the Year of Pig. 2008 is the Year of the Rat
This system is extremely practical. A child does not have to learn a new answer to the question, "How old are you?" in each new year. Old people often lose track of their age, because they are rarely asked about their present age. Every one just have to remember that he or she was born in the "Year of the Dog" or whatever.
Since 2008 is the Year of the Rat, any one who was born in the Year of the Rat is now either 1 or 13, 25, 37, 49, 61, 73, 85 or 97 years old. More about this.
New Year's decoration at the front of the house
Colorful calligraphy called 'chun lian' (Spring couplet) are as popular as those for Halloween or Christmas.
What's this logo at top right corner of this web page?
The Chinese word for "Spring." The Chinese calls the New Year's Celebration the "Spring Festival." This particular calligraphy is a reproduction of the work by one of master calligrapher Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322) who wrote it more than 600 years ago. More on calligraphy
Are there Chinese Graphics analogous to Christmas cards?
There are colorful posters! Traditional.
New Year's card
What is the Chinese word for 'luck'?
Posters with the word 'luck' is often seen around the New Year's. Make one yourself.
Solar/Lunar calendar
For monthly calendar of 2008 (designed by Mr. Meng Zhuo of CWR Univ.)
2008 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2007 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
What is the story about the animal of the year?
In Chinese calendar, one of the scheme for counting years is a 12-year cycle. One counts from Year 1,2,3,... up to 12. Then starts over from Year 1. (In modern mathematics, this is modulo 12.) Instead of inventing 12 special symbols for this purpose, 12 animals are used to represent these 12 years. Rabbit (hare), for example, is the 4-th year of the cycle.See more about this.
Chinese dragons
For more about Chinese dragons, go to the Dragon page
Fireworks & skywriting
For a bit of fun, look at this. [Chinese BIG5] [Chinese GB] [English]
How is Chinese New Year's Day determined?
In one sentence, the Chinese New Year is the second New Moon after the winter solstice.
It is based strictly on astronomical observations, and has nothing to do with the Pope, emperors, animals or myths. Due to its scientific and mathematical nature, we can easily and precisely calculate backward or forward for thousands of years.
One explanation by Rudy Chiang
Allen Tsai's site has more details: about Year 2007 and
Chinese Zodiac Chinese Zodiac

3 comments:

arsaili said...

Happy CNY

Syam said...

hi arsaili Happy CNY to you too

JennyLee said...

I came across your blog while researching a children's story I'm writing on the Moon Festival. I loved the monthly chinese calendars that combine the western and chinese calendars. I'm particularly interesed in finding Asian Americans who celebrate this festival in America. Any hel would be appreciated.