You would think that by almost the end of January, your New Year celebrations would be over, right?

Not if you celebrate the Chinese New Year, too; in honor of the Chinese New Year – the Year of the Dragon – everyone here at Z-Ultimate Self Defense Studios say, “Happy New Year!”, or as they say in certain dialects of Chinese, “Gung Hay Fat Choy!”

The Chinese New Year is the most celebrated events by the Chinese and other Asian cultures.  Literally translated to “Spring Festival”, it marks the end of winter.  It is not uncommon for families to gather for an “Eve of the Passing Year” reunion dinner in celebration.

The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, meaning it is based on the moon phases and not calendar dates.  Because the Chinese calendar is based on the lunar cycle, the start and end dates of every Chinese new year changes; this year, Chinese New Year is celebrated today, January 23rd, and it is the Year of the Dragon.

In the western Zodiac, every month has a sign attached to it, like November is Scorpio, and so on for all twelve months.  In the Chinese Zodiac, rather than each month having a sign, there are twelve animals - the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

The Chinese calendar rotates through the twelve animals in order, one animal per year, based on the lunar calendar.  Last year was the Year of the Rabbit, this year is the Year of the Dragon, next year would be the Snake, and so on.  Every twelve years, you repeat the cycle.

For example, if you were born 12, 24 or 36 years ago – assuming you were born within the cutoff dates – you were born in the Year of the Dragon, and this is your lucky year, as it is the sign of the Dragon.  Once you understand that the sign repeats every twelve years, it is easy to figure out by your birth year what animal sign you were born under. (If you Google Chinese Zodiac, you can find more information to study; there are also several great books on the subject as it relates to personalities, relationships and so on.)

In the Chinese culture, the Dragon is considered lucky and the most prosperous.  This is why many Chinese businesses have dragons displayed in their lobbies – to attract good fortune.  The key distinction between Asian or Chinese Fortune Dragons is that they have four or five toes – better to hold onto money!

Happy Chinese New Year to you and yours – may your “Year of the Dragon” be a fortunate and prosperous one!

Best,

Master Huff
Z-Ultimate Self Defense Studios