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kaviyakani · Joined: 03 Apr 2009 Posts: 35

hi.

happy Chinese new year of the rooster.why do the Chinese give each year an animal

servinvenitha · Joined: 14 Aug 2009 Posts: 12

hi....

Each year of the Chinese Zodiac is named for an animal with certain representative qualities, whose qualities you might also express should you be born in that year.

I believe that the animals representing each year were around before ascribing the zodiacal significance to them. There is a story that Buddha asked the animals to bid him farewell before he departed earth, but only twelve animals came, and so he named a year after each of them as a reward. The origins or dates of this story go very far back, so it's tough to tell the exact reasons why.

Worth mentioning, in addition to the twelve animals, there is also an element associated with each year, so that the Chinese Zodiac is actually a 60 year cycle rather than a 12 year one.

Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water are the elements, and each year is associated with an element and an animal. I, for instance, was born in the year of the Fire Dragon, 1976. This year is the year of the Wood Rooster.