Let us fin out what animal we are and the ancient history that led to the origins of the Chinese New Year animals.
The occasion of Chinese New Year is without a doubt considered to be the most prominent event in the Chinese lunar calendar. The traditional celebrations have been going on for years and the festive spirit is pretty much alive even today. The unique characteristic of the Chinese New Year is however the twelve year cycle that associates the coming of the year with an animal symbol.
The Chinese New Year animal reappearsevery twelve years. According to their current standing the next year should be the year of the Ox. The ancient philosophers of China studied the behavior of the animals in the calendar and drew a semblance with their personality traits and human nature.
You may believe the fact that the Chinese feel the person born on a particular animal year will have parallel characteristics of the animal. If you are born in the year of ox then you will have good skill for organizing while loyalty and dependability will be your big assets. Ox is also known to be strong and patient.
The concept behind the twelve year cycle with these beasts symbolizing each year was taken from the Buddhist dharma. Ancient history records that it was Buddha himself who summoned all these animals before he himself descended to Earth. Then a race was held amongst these animals where the victorious one would be responsible for the first year.
When the race began, the competition was tough. The act of betrayal was seen in the rat who made a deal with the cat but eventually didn't keep his word. All along the race it looked like the ox would win as he wadedthrough the crowd but little did he know that the rat was riding on his back all through the race and just when the ox was about to finish the race first, the rat jumped off his back and claimed the first position.
The first year of the twelve year cycle as a consequenceof the race was the year of the rat as he managed to end the race in first position. This year is followed by the year of the ox as the rightly deserving animal came second unfortunately. Then the ox is followed by the remaining of the animals on the basis of the position they finished the race in. the Last in the race was the pig!
If you are in a doubt as to why just twelve animals came to Buddha and why only these specific animals came, then do not look for any answers to such questions. As a matter of fact, this is nothing but an ancient culture which has been just made alive up till now and is strongly believed. As a token of honor and appreciation for their coming, Buddha assigned a year each to the animals. - 30294
The occasion of Chinese New Year is without a doubt considered to be the most prominent event in the Chinese lunar calendar. The traditional celebrations have been going on for years and the festive spirit is pretty much alive even today. The unique characteristic of the Chinese New Year is however the twelve year cycle that associates the coming of the year with an animal symbol.
The Chinese New Year animal reappearsevery twelve years. According to their current standing the next year should be the year of the Ox. The ancient philosophers of China studied the behavior of the animals in the calendar and drew a semblance with their personality traits and human nature.
You may believe the fact that the Chinese feel the person born on a particular animal year will have parallel characteristics of the animal. If you are born in the year of ox then you will have good skill for organizing while loyalty and dependability will be your big assets. Ox is also known to be strong and patient.
The concept behind the twelve year cycle with these beasts symbolizing each year was taken from the Buddhist dharma. Ancient history records that it was Buddha himself who summoned all these animals before he himself descended to Earth. Then a race was held amongst these animals where the victorious one would be responsible for the first year.
When the race began, the competition was tough. The act of betrayal was seen in the rat who made a deal with the cat but eventually didn't keep his word. All along the race it looked like the ox would win as he wadedthrough the crowd but little did he know that the rat was riding on his back all through the race and just when the ox was about to finish the race first, the rat jumped off his back and claimed the first position.
The first year of the twelve year cycle as a consequenceof the race was the year of the rat as he managed to end the race in first position. This year is followed by the year of the ox as the rightly deserving animal came second unfortunately. Then the ox is followed by the remaining of the animals on the basis of the position they finished the race in. the Last in the race was the pig!
If you are in a doubt as to why just twelve animals came to Buddha and why only these specific animals came, then do not look for any answers to such questions. As a matter of fact, this is nothing but an ancient culture which has been just made alive up till now and is strongly believed. As a token of honor and appreciation for their coming, Buddha assigned a year each to the animals. - 30294
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Chinese new year animals are a wonderful way to introduce the festival to children. If you would like ot learn about other fun activities for Chinese new year follow the hyperlinks.
