The importance of the zodiac to the Chinese culture is that the animal signs have been used in stories and folklore. These developed the different personality traits that were represented with each animal. Still even today, millions of people in China believe these predictions and “superstitions” that are described within the Chinese zodiac.
What are the Chinese zodiac signs based on animals?
The Chinese Zodiac signs based on animals came into being when Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to bid him adieu. The 12 animals that came by his beckoning were the ones that got a place in Chinese Zodiac. These honorary places given to the animals determine the characteristics of the person born in the dedicated year.
What is the importance of the Chinese zodiac?
The signs have been used for a very long time as a way of dating years in a 12-year cycle of the Chinese calendar. The importance of the zodiac to the Chinese culture is that the animal signs have been used in stories and folklore. These developed the different personality traits that were represented with each animal.
Why is the cat not part of the Chinese zodiac?
This is why the cat is ultimately not part of the Chinese zodiac. In Buddhism, legend has it that Gautama Buddha summoned all of the animals of the Earth to come before him before his departure from this Earth, but only twelve animals actually came to bid him farewell. To reward the animals who came to him, he named a year after each of them.
Why is the rat first in chinese zodiac signs?
The Rat is the first Sign of the Chinese Zodiac and is born under the sign of charm. He is intelligent, popular, and loves attending parties and large social gatherings. He has a good understanding of human nature and his advice and opinions are often sought.
As expected, the diligent and honest ox came first to the altar; at this moment, the rat hidden under the horn jumped off onto the altar and became the top of all zodiac signs. The human beings were unhappy about the result because they thought the rat was harmful despite its merits; besides, it played tricks.
Why is the rat not in the zodiac signs?
In some other versions, the rat was also said to have forgotten to wake up the cat, which therefore lost the qualification to be listed as one of the zodiac signs. Since then, the friendship died and they became enemies.
Why do the Chinese choose which animals to give birth to?
, as shao Lan notes in her talk, “the Chinese believe certain animals get on better than the others. So parents choose specific years to give birth to babies, because they believe the team effort by the right combination of animals can give prosperity to families.”.
What does the year of the rat mean for Chinese Spring Festival?
The Spring Festival is just around the corner and in a few days, we will ring in the Year of the Rat. It also marks the first year of a new round of the Chinese zodiac, since the rat is the first in the cycle of 12 Chinese zodiac signs.
The next thing we asked ourselves was; what does the year of the rat mean to you?
CGTN is not responsible for any of the translations. The Spring Festival is just around the corner and in a few days, we will ring in the Year of the Rat. It also marks the first year of a new round of the Chinese zodiac, since the rat is the first in the cycle of 12 Chinese zodiac signs.