Few days ago, on February 1st, China and a few Asian countries were celebrating the New Year, (the Tiger Year) based on the Chinese's lunisolar calendar. Even if the Gregorian calendar has been introduced in China in the early 90s, the country still relate on the lunisolar calendar for most of their celebrations and holidays. China is not the only one country which uses a calendar different from the Gregorian for their celebrations and particularly for determining religious dates. Indeed, we count about forty (40) calendar used in the world today based on the four (4) calendar system :
Solar calendar: A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates show the season or almost equivalently the apparent position of the Sun relative to the stars. The most popular solar calendar is the Gregorian calendar, which is used in most of the countries. Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in October 1582 as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. Like the Julian calendar, it has 12 months of 28–31 days each. The year in both calendars comprises 365 days, with a leap day being added to February in the leap years.
Lunar calendar: A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases (synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. There are about 8 lunar calendar in the world such as the Islamic calendar, the Igbo calendar, the Maramataka (Māori lunar calendar), the Javanese calendar etc... Since each lunation is approximately 29+1⁄2 days, it is common for the months of a lunar calendar to alternate between 29 and 30 days. Since the period of 12 such lunations, a lunar year, is 354 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes, 34 seconds. Purely lunar calendars are 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year.
Seasonal calendar: The seasonal year is the time between successive recurrences of a seasonal event, such as the flooding of a river, the migration of a species of bird, or the flowering of a species of plant. The need for farmers to predict seasonal events led to the development of calendars. However, the variability from year to year of seasonal events (because of climate change or just random variation) makes the seasonal year very hard to measure.
The lunisolar calendar: A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, combining lunar calendars and solar calendars. The date of Lunisolar calendars therefore shows both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year, that is the position of the Sun in the Earth's sky. Their months are based on the regular cycle of the Moon's phases. So lunisolar calendars are lunar calendars with—in contrast to them—additional intercalation rules being used to bring them into a rough agreement with the solar year and thus with the seasons.
The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, similar to the Hindu and Hebrew, and ancient Babylonian calendars. The first lunisolar calendar was the Zhou calendar (周曆; 周历), introduced under the Zhou dynasty. This calendar sets the beginning of the year on the day of the new moon before the winter solstice. Nowadays, although modern-day China uses the Gregorian calendar, the traditional Chinese calendar governs holidays, such as the Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival, in both China and in overseas Chinese communities.
Chinese zodiac history and meaning :
The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. In order, they are the: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. You'll probably wonder why principally these 12 animals? Why not a turtle or a cat? And why this specific order?
According to the legend, long, long ago, there was no Chinese zodiac. The Jade Emperor wanted to select 12 animals to be his guards. He sent an immortal being into man's world to spread the message that the earlier one went through the Heavenly Gate, the better the rank one would have. The next day, animals set off towards the Heavenly Gate. Rat got up very early. On his way to the gate, he encountered a river. He had to stop there, owing to the swift current. After waiting a long time, Rat noticed Ox about to cross the river and swiftly jumped into Ox's ear. The diligent Ox did not mind at all and simply continued. After crossing the river, he raced towards the palace of the Jade Emperor. Suddenly, Rat jumped out of Ox's ear and dashed to the feet of the Emperor. Rat won first place and Ox was second. Tiger and Rabbit came third and fourth because both are fast and competitive, but Tiger was faster. (Rabbit got across the river by hopping on stepping stones and a floating log.) Good-looking Dragon was fifth and was immediately noticed by the Jade Emperor, who said Dragon's son could be sixth. But Dragon's son didn't come with him that day. Just then, Snake came forward and said Dragon was his adoptive father; so Snake ranked sixth. Horse and Goat arrived. They were very kind and modest and each let the other go first. The Jade Emperor saw how polite they were and ranked them seventh and eighth. Monkey had fallen well behind. But he jumped between trees and stones, and caught up to be ninth. Last were Rooster, Dog, and Pig. These 12 animals became guards of the Heavenly Gate.
Chinese people believe that a person's horoscope, personality, and love compatibility are closely associated with his/her Chinese zodiac sign, determined by his/her birth year.
Rat: quick-witted, resourceful, versatile, kind.
Ox: diligent, dependable, strong, determined.
Tiger: quick-witted, resourceful, versatile, kind.
Rabbit: quiet, elegant, kind, responsible.
Dragon: confident, intelligent, enthusiastic.
Snake: enigmatic, intelligent, wise.
Horse: animated, active, energetic.
Goat: calm, gentle, sympathetic.
Monkey: sharp, smart, curious.
Rooster: observant, hardworking, courageous.
Dog: lovely, honest, prudent.
Pig: compassionate, generous, diligent.
Chinese zodiac is also used to determine if two people are compatible in a romantic relationship or any kind of relationship. Zodiac compatibility is usually checked before getting married in China. Here are then the best matches for the 12 Zodiac Signs:
Rat: Rat, Ox, Dragon, or Monkey
Ox: Rat, Snake, or Rooster
Tiger : Horse, Dog, or Pig
Rabbit : Goat, Dog, or Pig
Dragon: Rat, Monkey, or Rooster
Snake: Ox or Rooster
Horse: Tiger, Goat, or Dog
Goat: Rabbit, Horse, Goat, or Pig
Monkey: Rat, Dragon, or Dog
Rooster: Ox, Dragon, or Snake
Dog: Tiger, Rabbit, Horse, or Monkey
Pig: Tiger, Rabbit, or Goat
Sources :
So, based on the previous image, can you determine which is your Chinese zodiac? (Mine is rabbit) Do you believed that our personality is related to them? Or that the best matches are those listed? Comment below! I wish a Happy Tiger Year to our Chinese friends! May God bless you, take care!
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