The Year of the Rabbit

February 3 will mark the beginning of the Chinese New Year. This will be the year of the rabbit. I have to say, though, that I've never really understood what all these animals are all about.

There are twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. They are the rat, the cow, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog and the pig. Apparently, a long time ago, the Jade Emperor was having a party or something, and those twelve animals were the first ones to show up, so they're the ones in the Chinese zodiac. Seems kind of arbitrary to me, but whatever.

Now, for people in the west, you might just think it's a cute little thing they do for Chinese New Year, like Santa Claus is for Christmas. However, you would be wrong. While it is kind of cute, many people in Chinese society take this zodiac thing seriously. Some people would even not marry a particular person just because they are "incompatible" animals. In fact, the whole fortune-telling thing is a huge industry in Chinese society.

Anyway, at least rabbits are cute. Sure beats the year of the rat anyway ... ewww!

Cheers!