About The Chinese New Year

For Chinese the New Year is Christmas, the 4th of July and your birthday all wrapped up into one long 15 day celebration. The New year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the New Year is called the Lantern Festival. On this day children carry lanterns and households and businesses display lanterns.

The New Year is a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors. Many superstitions still exist during the holiday. Such as if you cry on New Year's day you will cry all through the year. Therefore, children are tolerated and are not spanked, even if they are naughty. Also the first person you meet on New Years Day will have a significant impact on your fortune the coming year. It is a lucky sign to see or hear songbirds or red-colored birds.

New Year's food include fish, to represent togetherness and abundance, and a chicken for prosperity. Noodles should be uncut, as they represent long life. Dumplings or wontons are very popular in North China.

2005 is the year of the Rooster

February 9 - 23

Rooster people are very observant. And most of the time, they are very accurate and precise with their observation. Perhaps, you can say that Roosters have a very keen "sixth-sense". With Roosters, what you see is exactly what you get. There are no hidden depths to the Rooster's character: he is neither complicated nor profound, rather, he is very forthright and straightforward. The rooster likes to be noticed and flattered. He might dress a little flashily with this in mind, but in his heart, he is completely conservative. Roosters always appear attractive and beautifully turned out. They are sociable and love to receive attention.

Believe it or not, it is not an easy task to fool the Rooster. His mind is cautious and skeptical, with this perceptive gift, Roosters make excellent trouble shooters, detectives, doctors, nurses and psychiatrists. Roosters are always up, out and doing. You rarely see a relaxed rooster that sits quietly in the living room, doing nothing. They are also multitalented, and can become accomplished in many different ways.

All Roosters are extremely conscious about clothing and appearance. They may appear conservative but are obsessed with their look - they can spend hours standing in front of the mirrors and will not even wink when they spend $500 for a dress. That doesn't mean they don't care about money, in fact, they love to compare prices and even if the bargain is only few cents or few dollars cheaper, they will be satisfied.

Though sharp, practical and resourceful, the Rooster also likes to dream. And because he likes to dream, he will disappointed the loved one, for the reality will never match up to the dreams he would like to share with her. Nevertheless, he really is sincere about those dreams though. Rooster people make great hosts and adore entertaining. The main virtue in the Rooster character is loyalty: they make devoted friends. They always keep their promises and are always true to their word. When Roosters love and admire someone, they will even catch the moon just to keep them happy. (Text from - Total Chinese)

Most compatible with snakes and ox least compatible with other roosters and goats

Previous Years: 1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005

Celebrities: Michael Aspel, Yoko Ono, Rod Stewart, Mia Farrow, Eric Clapton