Jan 05 2009
Taming the Paper Dragon in the Year of the Ox
Since I haven’t pulled together all of my New Year’s Resolutions in time to get started on January 1st, I’m thinking of starting over on Chinese New Year. This year it will be celebrated on January 26th, launching into the Year of the Ox. One thing I’d like to be better about is “taming the paper dragon,” or dealing with all of the paperwork in my life. Without Rex, I’d be turning into one of those little old ladies they find buried in stacks of newspapers from the last ninety years!
I try to expose my two little girls, London and Maddie, to traditions from other cultures, particularly the ones that offer the most fun. I did a little research and learned that the Chinese lunar calendar is 2,640 years older than ours and never begins on January 1st, nor does it begin on the same date each year. It can begin any time between January 21st and February 18th, depending on the date of the New Moon in Aquarius. Each year is named for an animal. Every 12 years this cycle begins again. The Chinese say that the animal ruling the year you were born will influence your life. London was born in the Year of the Snake, Maddie and I were born in the Year of the Horse, and Rex was born in the Year of the Rooster… I wonder what that says about all of us. More details to come in time to celebrate Chinese New Year on January 26th.
I’ve provided a little chart here so you can look up the year of your birth. Go ahead and look up which Chinese year you were born in, and please leave a comment so we can learn more about our animals as we begin our celebration.
