Chinese New Year, the most important holiday on the Chinese lunar calendar, occurs Thursday.
The celebration is celebrated by China, but has a large effect on the New Year's celebrations of its neighboring countries. The common phrase said at the beginning of the 15-day celebration is "Gung Hay Fat Choy", which means "Happy New Year" in Chinese.
The Chinese New Year traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th, which is called the Lantern Festival.
According to the Chinese New Year, this is the Year of the Rat. In the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Rat is the first first of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.
The Rat is associated with aggression, wealth, charm, and order, yet also associated with death, war, the occult, pestilence, and atrocities.
According to the Chinese zodiac, the Rat is a power symbol, along with the Ox, Tiger, Dragon, Snake, and Monkey.
The other symbols in the Chinese zodiac are romance symbols: Rabbit, Horse, Sheep, Rooster, Dog and Boar.
With the symbol of the Rat, there are five elements of classifications of the different types of Rat: Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, and Fire. This year will be the Year of the Earth Rat, which encompasses a yin-yang aspect of the qualities of the animal.
The Year of the Rat starts today and will end on Jan. 25, 2009. It will be followed by the Year of the Ox. The next Year of the Rat will start in 2020. However, the next time the Year of the Rat will fall within the Earth element will not be until 2068.
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