Happy Year of the Dragon!

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year!

Today marks the New Moon in the lunar cycle which means that it is the Chinese New Year's Day and this is an especially propitious year - the Year of the Dragon.

The Chinese lunar calendar recognizes a twelve year cycle, each characterized by a particular animal: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. As you will see from looking at a list of these animals, they are all real except for the dragon.

Dragons are mythical creatures and they are the most powerful of all the animals in the Chinese calendar. As such, years dominated by the dragon are generally considered lucky years. To be born in a Year of the Dragon should be especially fortuitous and the Chinese are expecting a baby boom this year. Persons born in such a year are said to be innovative, enterprising, flexible, self-assured, brave, and passionate. That's quite a set of positive attributes!

On the other hand, being possessed of all these advantages can lead a Dragon to be conceited, tactless, and quick-tempered.

Chinese horoscopes are fascinating to me, even if I am generally skeptical of horoscopes. After all, the Chinese have been doing this for thousands of years so they must have learned something along the way. I, myself, was born in a Year of the Monkey. If only I could believe that I possess all the wonderful attributes that the Chinese attribute to one born in those years!

But I digress.

We are entering the Year of the Dragon, a very powerful year. It is a year under the protection of this wonderful, mythical creature which should bring very good things to us all. Let us hope that the Chinese have it right this time.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

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