The Chinese Lunar Calendar is a yearly one, with the start of the lunar year being based on the cycles of the moon. Every new year starts with the second new moon after the winter solstice and can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February.
The calendar is divided into 12 months of 29 or 30 days. The length of the calendar is adjusted depending on the length of the solar year. A leap year has 13 months instead of 12. A complete cycle takes 60 years and is made up of five cycles of 12 years each. The 12- year cycles are continuously repeated.
Every year is assigned an animal name or "sign" according to a repeating cycle: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. According to Chinese custom, people born during that year will have characteristics of that animal.
Everyone can use an animal's name to represent the year when he was born. For example, if I say, "Wo Shu Long" it means that my Chinese Zodiac is Dragon. Do you know your Chinese Zodiac sign? Please look it up on this chart.The Chinese Lunar Calendar is a yearly one, with the start of the lunar year being based on the cycles of the moon. Every new year starts with the second new moon after the winter solstice and can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February.
The calendar is divided into 12 months of 29 or 30 days. The length of the calendar is adjusted depending on the length of the solar year. A leap year has 13 months instead of 12. A complete cycle takes 60 years and is made up of five cycles of 12 years each. The 12- year cycles are continuously repeated.
Every year is assigned an animal name or "sign" according to a repeating cycle: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. According to Chinese custom, people born during that year will have characteristics of that animal.
Everyone can use an animal's name to represent the year when he was born. For example, if I...