What is indisputable is the winter solstice on 21st of December.
This is the shortest day in the northern hemisphere. Logically,
the lunar New Year is the first new moon after the solstice, for
example:
Jan 4th 2011
Dec 24th 2011 (Lunar New Year 2012!)
Jan 11th 2013
Jan 1st 2014 (Lunar moon coincides with calendar New Year).
However, the Chinese take a different view, for them the lunar New Year
is the second new moon after the winter solstice.
The fact that the date of Chinese New Year varies within about a month
is a clue that it's linked to the new moon. A rough, and almost
infallible guide is that the date of the Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. The winter solstice always falls
on December 21st, the next new moon is January 4th, and the second new moon
is on February 3rd 2011.
Will and Guy admit that the precise rules for determining 'When is the
Chinese New Year', are far more complex. For example, one problem
with any lunar calendar system is that some years there are 13 new moons. The Chinese deal with this be slotting in an extra
intercalary month.
Unlike western calendars, the Chinese calendar has names
that are repeated every 60 years. Within the 'Stem-Branch' system is shorter cycle of 12 years denoted by animals:
2011 is the year of the Rabbit. It is the Xīn-măo 辛卯 year.
Xīn (Metal) is the eighth of the ten celestial stems and
Mao (Rabbit) is
the fourth of the twelve terrestrial branches and marks
the year of the Rabbit or Hare.
Will and Guy have researched the place of the rabbit in the Chinese
zodiac and this is what we have found.
People born under the sign of the rabbit are traditionally
thought to be gentle, sensitive, modest, and merciful and have a
strong memory.
They like to communicate with others in a humorous manner.
They cannot bear dull life, so they are good at creating
romantic or interesting situations but they lack meditative
abilities and often sink money into ideas that may cause failures in
their career.
People born in the Year of the Rabbit are articulate, talented,
and ambitious.
They are virtuous, reserved, and have excellent taste.
Rabbit people are admired, trusted, and are often financially
lucky.
They are fond of gossip but are tactful and generally kind.
Rabbit people seldom lose their temper.
They are clever at business and being conscientious, never back
out of a contract.
They would make good gamblers for they have the uncanny gift of
choosing the right thing. However, they seldom gamble, as they are
conservative and wise.
Year of the Rabbit - The Legend of the Jade Rabbit
In this legend, three fairy sages transformed themselves into pitiful
old men and begged for something to eat from a fox, a monkey and a
rabbit.
The fox and the monkey both had food to give to the old men, but the
rabbit, empty-handed, offered his own flesh instead, jumping into a
blazing fire to cook himself.
The sages were so touched by the rabbit's sacrifice that they let him
live in the Moon Palace where he became the "Jade Rabbit."
A Chinese Rabbit Folk Tale
Once upon a time, there was a farmer in the Song State, China. When
he was working in a field, he saw a rabbit running past him, then it
broke its neck on a tree and died. The farmer grabbed the dead rabbit
and made a stew. it was delicious.
After that, the farmer didn't want to work on his field anymore. He
just sat next to that same tree and waited for a rabbit to smash itself
and die.
Unfortunately, there were no more rabbits afterwards and the farmer's
field grew nothing but weeds. The moral of this story from China is that
nothing can be achieved without either working or paying.
Chinese idiom: 守株待兔 [shou zhu dai tu - literally, "Guarding the tree
awaiting a rabbit" ] You're waiting for a rabbit.
At the Chinese New Year red is important. People wear red clothes, they write poems on red paper, and give children 'luck money' in red envelopes. The symbolism behind the red colour is fire,
and fire burns off bad luck. As for fireworks one belief is that the cracker jacks and sparks frighten away evil spirits.
After the fireworks at the beginning of the celebration of the Chinese
new year, comes the more tranquil Lantern Festival on the last day of the festivities. Most Lantern parades feature a dragon made of silk and bamboo. The dancers hold the monstrous
dragon aloft on sticks. Their coordination skills make the dragon appear to dance.
Chinese Phrases
搞笑清洁笑话in Chinese translates into clean funny jokes.
干净免费笑话,故事图片、视频剪辑 means clean free jokes, stories pictures and video-clips
Footnote: Please write to Will and Guy if you have any interesting
articles on calculating the lunar New Year.
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