Chinese New Year 2026

 

Chinese New Year 2026

Chinese Zodiac carvings on the ceiling of the Kushida Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Gong Xi Fa Cai (Mandarin)

Kung Hei Fat Choi (Cantonese)

Both of these salutations and their variations mean ‘Congratulations and may you be prosperous.’

Chinese New Year will be celebrated from February 17^th to 3^rd March this year. It ushers in the Year of the Horse, specifically the Fire Horse, bidding farewell to the Year of the Wood Snake.

There are twelve animals represented in the Chinese Zodiac in a sequence that is repeated every five years, meaning that sixty years elapse before a repetition of a particular element.

Thanks to Bendigo Joss House Temple for the following information.

The five elements applied to each animal in the zodiac are wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. The sequence of these elements is important and set. Wood makes fire burn, fire creates earth, earth brings forth metal, metal runs water, and water makes wood grow.

Based on your animal these are considered to be your key traits:

Rat: Intelligent, adaptable, quick-witted, charming, artistic, sociable.

• Ox: Loyal, reliable, thorough, strong, reasonable, steady, determined.
• Tiger: Enthusiastic, courageous, ambitious, leadership, confidence, charismatic.
• Rabbit: Trustworthy, empathic, modest, diplomatic, sincere, sociable, caretakers, sensitive.
• Dragon: Lucky, flexible, eccentric, imaginative, artistic, spiritual, charismatic.
• Snake: Philosophical, organised, intelligent, intuitive, elegant, attentive, decisive.
• Horse: Adaptable, loyal, courageous, ambitious, intelligent, adventurous, strong.
• Sheep: Tasteful, crafty, warm, elegant, charming, intuitive, sensitive, calm.
• Monkey: Quick-witted, charming, lucky, adaptable, bright, versatile, lively, smart.
• Rooster: Honest, energetic, intelligent, flamboyant, flexible, diverse, confident.
• Dog: Loyal, sociable, courageous, diligent, steady, lively, adaptable, smart.
• Pig: Honourable, philanthropic, determined, optimistic, sincere, sociable.

Your associated element contributes the following traits:

Wood: Exceptionally gifted, idealists and planners

• Water: Sympathetic, perfectionist, coordinator
• Fire: Courageous, passionate, good at research
• Earth: Kindness, tolerant, honest, leader
• Metal: Determined, persistent, workaholic, manager

Bearing in mind the lucky cat with its waving paw, why is there no cat in the Chinese zodiac?

Cats are native to Egypt and were not known in China when the Chinese Zodiac was devised about four thousand years ago. They only appeared two thousand years later, introduced via the Silk Routes.

Despite this, there are legends about the absence of a cat in the calendar. Two of them mention the Jade Emperor, ruler of Heaven and Earth. He resolved to make life easier for his people by giving them a calendar to organise their lives. He thought he would name the twelve months after animals, but could not think which were the worthiest, so decided to hold a race across the river. The first twelve to arrive at his palace, on the opposite riverbank, would become the animals of the zodiac.

Naturally, all the animals were extremely excited, and longed to win such a great honour from the Emperor. At that time Rat and Cat were great friends, and thought they would enter the race together. When they saw the deep, raging waters of the river, they were distraught, knowing they were not strong enough to swim across without assistance. They were clever little animals and picked out a big strong ox, who would barely notice their slight weight on his broad back. Of course, being polite as well as cunning, they sought his permission and Ox, a pleasant sort of fellow, readily agreed to carry them.

Ox lumbered into the current and started to swim. As he neared the bank, Rat saw the Jade Emperor on the shore and thought, ‘If Cat were not on Ox’s back, Ox could swim faster and then I would reach the palace first, and I really want to be first.’ So, he pushed Cat off into the wild, white water.

As Ox was almost ready to trudge ashore, certain he would be the first animal to grace the zodiac, Rat leapt off his back and ran helter-skelter to the Emperor, who congratulated him roundly and placed him first. Ox was second, but he was just pleased to be there – position meant little to him.

Cat later struggled ashore, half-drowned, and too late to be given a position on the calendar. That is why, to this day, cats and rats are sworn enemies.

A less thrilling story relates that Cat and Rat were good friends, and wanted to race across the river to the Jade Emperor’s palace. Rat agreed to wake Cat in time for the start of the race, but he did not keep his promise, and so Cat missed the race altogether. No wonder cats and rats loathe each other!

 

Lunar New Year

 

Lunar New Year

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Lunar New Year is also known as Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival. It is the most important festival in China but is also celebrated in Vietnam, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and other countries with a significant Chinese population.

Lunar New Year falls on the second new moon following the winter solstice and therefore begins on a different date each year. This year, 2025, it began on 29^th January. Celebrations will continue until the fifteenth day, when the Lantern Festival is held.

There are twelve animals associated with the zodiac, and 2025 ushered in the Year of the Wood Snake, the first such for sixty years. The four other zodiacal snakes are Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.

The snake is revered for its intelligence and mystery. The Wood element signifies growth, passion, tolerance, and renewal.

Snakes are interesting creatures, found on every continent except Antarctica. They are absent from Greenland, Ireland, Iceland, and New Zealand, and from many smaller Atlantic and Pacific islands.

Not all snakes live on land. There are sixty-nine species of sea snakes, most of which are venomous, and three freshwater snake species. By contrast, most land snakes are non-venomous, killing their prey by constriction or simply swallowing it live.

Snakes have no eyelids or external ears. They sense sound through vibrations on the ground or in the air, and use their tongues to ‘taste’ the environment.

Snakes evolved from lizards about 150 million years ago. Some species, boas, and pythons, for example, retain vestigial limbs in the form of small claws either side of the vent, near the end of the tail.

Time has adapted the snake’s anatomy to accommodate its slender body. In the case of paired organs, like kidneys, these are elongated and situated in tandem. Many snakes have just one lung. A snake’s shape allows it to slither along many different surfaces and its flexible skin is covered in scales, which grip as it moves along.

 Colourful processions for Chinese New Year will include a dragon or lion dance and red will feature in decorations, as red is considered lucky.

This, from Wikipedia:

       According to legend, Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian (a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains) during the annual Spring Festival. The Nian would eat villagers, especially children in the middle of the night. 

One year, all the villagers decided to hide from the beast. An older man appeared before the villagers went into hiding and said that he would stay the night and would get revenge on the Nian. The old man put up red papers and set off firecrackers.

The day after, the villagers came back to their town and saw that nothing had been destroyed. They assumed that the old man was a deity who came to save them. The villagers then understood that Yanhuang had discovered that the Nian was afraid of the colour red and loud noises. 

(Yanhuang or Yan Huang is the name of a mythical ethnic group of ancient China who were said to have inhabited the Yellow River basin area. They claimed their descent from the two tribes led by the Flame Emperor (Yandi) and Yellow Emperor (Huangdi).^[1] Their main achievement was to join to strengthen the basis of the two tribes and their civilized community. The Yanhuang are considered to be the founders of the Chinese people and the initiators of Chinese culture.)

The tradition grew as New Year approached, and the villagers would wear red clothes, hang red lanterns, and red spring scrolls on windows and doors, and use firecrackers and drums to frighten away the Nian. From then on, the Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk.