The Chinese calendar has a completely different system of dating as compared to the west. They follow a lunar calendar which shows a cycle of 12 years unlike the west where we use a linear calendar to show the time concept. As far as Zodiac calendar is concerned the Chinese use animal images to stand for each Zodiac sign.
Since the Chinese calendar is dependent on the cycles of the moon it is known as a lunar calendar and works diametrically opposite to that of the western solar calendar. On comparing the Chinese New Year to the western one we find that it begins somewhere close to the end of January and beginning of February.
By'11 China had adopted western solar calendar but followed the lunar calendar to mark their festivals and other traditional occasions. For example Chinese still follow lunar calendar to mark the coming of New Year. Therefore to make things simple most Chinese calendars have both lunar and solar dates.
The cyclical theory of time developed a physical portrayal in the form of animals according to popular folklore. An animal was assigned to each year which would be the official symbol for that year. The twelve years have twelve distinct animals with their respective traits. Since the calendar is cyclical the same animal returns every twelve years.
You will observe that the Chinese animal symbols representing personality traits are not different from western monthly or daily horoscope. The dissimilarity lies in the yearly representation. It is believed that a person born in a particular year will take on the qualities of that animal which represents that year.
Apart from the personality traits that Chinese zodiac symbols are supposed to portray which may or may not be taken seriously; they play another important function. One can use the Chinese lunar calendar to determine the age of an individual. Once you know the person's animal sign then you can easily calculate their age by using a bit of common sense and basic math.
Chinese lunar calendar is very effective in calculating the age of a person. Once you know the category of the animal to which the person belongs with a bit of intelligence and little mathematics this can be done.
You may question why the Chinese assign each twelve years to twelve different animals. The ancient tales show that there was a quarrel between twelve animals as to who would control the cycle of changing years. It was decided that the first animal to reach the opposite bank of a river in a race would lead and the rest would follow as they completed the race.
As the legend goes the Ox was in the lead in the race to the opposite bank with a rat on its back. When it was about to reach the finishing line the rat being smart jumped off its back and became first to finish. Therefore the months too start with rat in the lead with ox taking the second position and pig in the last.
Since the Chinese calendar is dependent on the cycles of the moon it is known as a lunar calendar and works diametrically opposite to that of the western solar calendar. On comparing the Chinese New Year to the western one we find that it begins somewhere close to the end of January and beginning of February.
By'11 China had adopted western solar calendar but followed the lunar calendar to mark their festivals and other traditional occasions. For example Chinese still follow lunar calendar to mark the coming of New Year. Therefore to make things simple most Chinese calendars have both lunar and solar dates.
The cyclical theory of time developed a physical portrayal in the form of animals according to popular folklore. An animal was assigned to each year which would be the official symbol for that year. The twelve years have twelve distinct animals with their respective traits. Since the calendar is cyclical the same animal returns every twelve years.
You will observe that the Chinese animal symbols representing personality traits are not different from western monthly or daily horoscope. The dissimilarity lies in the yearly representation. It is believed that a person born in a particular year will take on the qualities of that animal which represents that year.
Apart from the personality traits that Chinese zodiac symbols are supposed to portray which may or may not be taken seriously; they play another important function. One can use the Chinese lunar calendar to determine the age of an individual. Once you know the person's animal sign then you can easily calculate their age by using a bit of common sense and basic math.
Chinese lunar calendar is very effective in calculating the age of a person. Once you know the category of the animal to which the person belongs with a bit of intelligence and little mathematics this can be done.
You may question why the Chinese assign each twelve years to twelve different animals. The ancient tales show that there was a quarrel between twelve animals as to who would control the cycle of changing years. It was decided that the first animal to reach the opposite bank of a river in a race would lead and the rest would follow as they completed the race.
As the legend goes the Ox was in the lead in the race to the opposite bank with a rat on its back. When it was about to reach the finishing line the rat being smart jumped off its back and became first to finish. Therefore the months too start with rat in the lead with ox taking the second position and pig in the last.
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Chinese zodiac symbols are varied and interesting in their meaning. To read more on Chinese New Year symbols follow the hyperlinks.
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