Lunar New Year: How The Chinese Zodiac Was Decided
I apologize, due to the wifi shut down I could not post this timely when Lunar New Year was taking place.
Have you heard of Lunar New Year? maybe you celebrate it, if so, you’ve probably heard of the Chinese Zodiac. The legend of how the zodiac began started with a race. The Jade Emperor, Yu Di, ruler of the heavens, wanted to devise a way to measure time, so he organized a race. The rule was, the first twelve animals to make it across the river will earn a spot on the zodiac calendar in the order they arrived.
On the day of the race, the rat awoke early to find the ox, tiger, and horse. The rat who was unsure of how they would get across asked the bigger animals for help. The kind-hearted ox agreed to carry the rat across the river. Just before they were about to cross together, the rat jumped off the ox’s head securing first place. The ox followed coming in second with the tiger right behind him. The rabbit hopped across stones to get across. Coming in fourth. In fifth was the dragon, who stopped to help creatures along the way. After, came the horse who galloped across the river, but before gaining sixth the snake slithered past. The horse disappointingly came in seventh. The sheep, monkey, and rooster were all atop a raft. Working together to push through the weeds. When they made it across, the trio agreed to give eighth place to the sheep. The monkey was awarded ninth and the rooster in tenth. Scrambling onto shore was the dog, followed by the pig, who had gotten hungry and stopped to take a nap before finally waddling across. Why is this so important to Lunar New Year? Because these signs have been used for long periods of rime. The importance of the zodiac is that the animal signs have been used in folklore. It’s said that people born in the year of the selected animal will inhabit the same trairs as the animal. For example, if you were born the year of the ox, you would be depicted of being hard-working, independent, supportive, and reliable. In conclusion, the legend of the Chinese Zodiac is not only important, but widely celebrated and acknowledged throughout the world.
Want to learn what your Chinese Zodiace is? check out this link.
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/chinese-zodiac-calculator.htm