Teacher MarChinese New Year: The Year of the Rabbit
"Chinese New Year: The Year of the Rabbit"
2011 is the Year of the Rabbit, according to the Chinese lunar calendar, and this year's Chinese New Year celebrations will include activities to ward off evil and bad luck, share the legend about the rabbit in ancient China, and eat special foods that will bring abundance and prosperity in the year ahead. Here are some interesting facts about the Year or the Rabbit:
* You are a rabbit if you were born in 1963, 1975, 1987 or 1999. Anyone born in 2011 will also be a rabbit.
* The rabbit is one of the luckiest signs in the Chinese Astrology chart and 2011 looks to be a favorable year for him.
* Common characteristics of people born during the Year of the Rabbit include keen, wise, fragile, considerate, obsessive, sneaky, tranquil and serene. Rabbits seem to make excellent therapists, actors musicians, PR agents, writers and fashion designers.
* Rabbits are generally lucky in business and have excellent bargaining wisdom.
* The Lunar New Year begins on Feb. 3. Chinese Fen Shui experts are reporting that this Year of the Rabbit will be marked by volatility and conflict.
* The equivalent western astrological sign of the rabbit is Pisces.
* Actors, actresses, musicians and other famous people born in the Year of the Rabbit include Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, John Cleese, Lewis Carroll, Michael Keaton, Whitney Houston, Angelica Huston, Helen Hunt, Jane Seymour, Joan Crawford, , Kate Winslet, Drew Barrymore, Edith Piaf, Fanny Brice, Natasha Richardson and Tina Turner.
* In Chinese mythology, the rabbit epitomizes longevity and derives his essence from the moon.
* The rabbit's motto is, "Let there be peace -- and let it be with me".
* The Year of the Rabbit ends on Jan. 12, 2012.
* The 2011 Year of the Rabbit may be a year devoted to calm after the tumultuous Year of the Tiger in 2010.
* People born in the Year of the Rabbit tend to like the company of others and are not happy being alone.
* The traditional Lantern Festival, part of the 2011 Year of the Rabbit Chinese New Year Celebration, will take place on Feb. 17 and marks the end of the New Year season. The festival dates back more than 2,000 years ago to the Han Dynasty, and includes a lantern carnival with giant zodiac animal lanterns, fireworks and the famous Mass Rocket-Firecracker Artillery event in Taiwan.
* Traditional Chinese New Year foods include Nian Gao (rice cake), spring rolls, fish and dumplings. Rice cake is eaten to bring prosperity in business. Spring rolls symbolize wealth. Fish is eaten to bring abundance and financial prosperity. Chinese dumplings also symbolize wealth and are traditionally eaten on Chinese New Year's Eve.