The Year of The Rooster

Chines New Year is the most important event in the Chinese calendar. Chinese New Year celebrates the start of a new lunar year not a calendar year. The new moon will begin the festival. Chinese New Year 2017 started on January 28th and the celebration will continue through February 15th. February 15 will signal the next full moon. This is the year of the rooster. 

There will be fire crackers, lucky money and dancing dragons but so much more as well. Chinese New Year honors Heaven, earth, and ancestors. It is a celebration of family and thanksgiving. The Chinese New Year tradition is to reconcile, forget all grudges and wish peace and happiness to all. All unfinished business with others need to be cleared away before the new year celebration. 

Firecrackers play a big part of the Chinese New Year celebrations. The firecrackers are believed to scare away the evil spirits. Lucky Money is given to children by their parents or other adults. The money will be placed in a red paper envelope before handing the money out. The amount handed out must be an even number as odd numbers are associated with funerals. Chinese families will wear red clothes to ward off evil spirits

Chinese New Year coincides with slack time before a new year of farm work starts. It is a time of preparation. In the past most chinese were farmers but today 55% of all those that live in China live in urban areas. Millions of those living in urban areas will return home to their rural roots for the Chinese New Year celebration. During the festival time prayers and wishes will be made for a good harvest, new business year and profit and success for the year. 

2017 is the year of the Rooster Roosters are hardworking, resourceful, courageous and talented Those born in previous year of the Rooster include Rudyard Kipling, Benjamin Franklin, Prince Philip, Nancy Reagan, Joan Collins, Dolly Parton, ​Michelle Pfeiffer, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Beyonce, Eric Clapton and Yoko Ono. What do you think do any of those born under the sign of the rooster have the personality that it stands for??