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It’s Dragon’s Year…
The 23rd January 2012 the year of the Dragon begins, altough the famous Trafalgar Square parade will take place a little later, on Sunday 29th January, with thousands of Londoners celebrating the Chinese New Year. Programme organizers expect a significant turn out for weekend festivities, as they promote the celebration of Chinese culture planned for the next couple months.
Traditions
While the public New Year’s commemoration will last for one day, traditional private New Year celebrations are said to last 15 days. In preparation for the transition from one lunar calendar year to another, Chinese families clean their houses to rid any bad luck, decorate their doors with red scrolls with good luck sayings and often purchase new clothes and get a haircut. They prepare large family meals that usually consist of rice puddings and soup, steamed dumplings and other vegetarian meals. And red envelopes filled with good luck money and treats for eager children accompany the excitement of the New Year’s arrival.
Find Your Chinese Sign
Note: If you were born in January or February before the start of that year’s Chinese New Year, your animal is the previous year’s.
Rabbit:
1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011
Dragon:
1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012
Snake:
1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013
Horse:
1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014
Sheep:
1907, 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015
Monkey:
1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016
Rooster:
1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017
Dog:
1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018
Boar:
1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019
Rat:
1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
Ox:
1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Tiger:
1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
