FR
Xīn nián hǎo! As from today until 18th February 2015 the Chinese Year of The Horse1 has just begun. Please note, however, that my tag does not reflect the governing element of the year which is wood2 — nor the associated green colour. To go fully green, see you all again on Saint Patrick's Day next month!
Endnotes
- According to legend, on New Year's Day, Buddha set out to reorganise the Empire and summoned all the animals in China. Only twelve turned up: the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep, the monkey, the rooster, the dog, and the pig. In gratitude, each was given a personal year to govern. Please note in some Asian countries, the rabbit is replaced with the cat, the sheep with the goat and the pig with the boar.
- There are five elements: wood (Jupiter - Eastern Green Dragon on years ending with 4 or 5), fire (Mars - Southern Red Phoenix - years ending with 5/7), earth (Saturn - Central Yellow Snake (colour of the sovereign) - years 8/9), metal (Venus - Western White Tiger - years 0/1), and water (Mercury - Northern Black Tortoise - years 2/3). The order is important since each element produces the next. Thus, within a ten-year cycle, each element will govern two years. So 2015 will be the year of the Wood Sheep; 2016 the year of the Fire Monkey; 2017, the year of the Fire Rooster, etc.
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