#Lunar new year animals 1984 for free

Mandarin: 恭喜发财 / “gong-sshee faa-tseye”.Here are the characteristics associated with all 12 signs, according to the Chinese zodiac: This means the ox, who had been due to win the race, had to settle for second place.Īccording to the Chinese zodiac, there are both positive and negative characteristics associated with each of the 12 animals and people born in the year of each animal may have some of those qualities. The rat is thought to have won by hitching a ride on the ox’s back and jumping off at the last minute.

The story goes that the animals raced each other to be the first to reach the Jade Emperor, so the years are named in the order in which they finished. The order of the years of zodiac signs are thought to based on a folk tale known as the Great Race. It is also seen as a symbol of pureness and auspiciousness. It should be noted, however, that as Chinese New Year falls a few weeks after the new year in Western countries (Chinese New Year tends to be towards the end of January or early February rather than January 1 like in the UK), if your birthday is in January or February, your Chinese Zodiac animal may actually be different to the animal for the rest of the year of your birth. Then, 2025 will be the Year of the Snake and 2026 will be the Year of the Horse, and so on.Īs the years follow a 12-year series, it's easy to work out which animal represented the year of your birth - and we've made it even easier for you by writing out each of the animals and their corresponding years. With last year (2022) being the Year of the Tiger, for example, this year (2023) is the Year of the Rabbit and next year (2024) will be the Year of the Dragon. In China and other countries that follow the lunisolar calendar, each year is named after one of the animals - in order. Read more: The refugee Wales helped save from deportation and possible death who now teaches our children about human rights

#Lunar new year animals 1984 for free

To get the latest WalesOnline newsletters emailed to you directly for free click here. The winner of the race was the cunning rat, followed by the ox and then the tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and, finally, the pig in 12th place. Each year is named after one of 12 animals and festivities are usually centred around each year's specific animal.Īccording to legend, many years ago, a Chinese Emperor hosted a grand race - and the 12 fastest animals to cross the finish line had years named after them. This year, Chinese New Year falls on Sunday, January 22, and 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit, so many costumes and themed activities will be based around rabbits.Ĭhinese New Year, also known as 'Spring Festival' and 'Lunar New Year' marks the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar.

Chinese New Year is fast approaching and thousands of people across Wales are looking forward to the annual festivities with their families, friends and community groups.