Chinese zodiac calendar-lunar calendar
The traditional Chinese lunar calendar has been used in China for over three millennia. The beginnings of the Chinese calendar can be traced back to the 14th century B.C.E. Legend has it that the Emperor Huangdi invented the calendar in 2637 B.C.E.It counts the years in sixty-year cycles, utilizing combinations of two series of numbers known as the ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches.The spring festival is the first day of the year in the Chinese calendar.
Chinese zodiac calendar info
The Chinese Lunar Calendar names each of the twelve years after an animal.Every year correlates with one of twelve animals (corresponding to the Twelve Branches),A legend explains the sequence in which the animals were assigned. Supposedly, the twelve animals fought over the precedence of the animals in the cycle of years in the calendar, so the Chinese gods held a contest to determine the order. 2001 is the year of snake, the next year of snake will be in 2013. 2004 is the Year of the Monkey, jiashen (jia, the first Heavenly Stem, combined with shen, the ninth Earthly Branch) according to the numbering of the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. The Year of the Monkey ends on February 8, 2005, the last day of the year jiashen. The following day marks the beginning of the year yiyou (yi, the second Heavenly Stem, combined with you, the tenth Earthly Branch), the Year of the Rooster. The year of a person's birth corresponds to one of the twelve Animals Years of the Chinese zodiac. When Chinese people talk about birthdays, they generally ask each other what their Animal Year is, rather than when they were born.
Chinese zodiac calendar chart
Rat 1924 1936 1948 1960 1972 1984 1996
Ox 1925 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997
Tiger 1926 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998
Rabbit 1927 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999
Dragon 1928 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000
Snake 1929 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001
Horse 1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002
Sheep 1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003
Monkey 1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004
Rooster 1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005
Dog 1934 1946 1958 1970 1982 1994 2006
Boar 1935 1947 1959 1971 1983 1995 2007