Happy Chinese New Year My Fellow Oxen
Past Ox years include 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985 and 1997.
The story goes that on a Chinese New Year long ago, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him. Twelve came — a rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Buddha declared that each year would be named after one of the animals, rotating in a 12-year cycle. He also said that people born in an animal’s year would possess some of that animal’s personality characteristics.
January 26 is the beginning of the Year of the Ox. To Chinese who follow the tradition, people born in previous ox years (like me) as well as babies born in this year, are destined to have at least some ox characteristics. These include being dependable, methodical, logical, hardworking, patient, stubborn, narrow minded and demanding.
Like Western new years, the Chinese New Year symbolizes renewal, but it also means the coming year will embody many of the elements of the year’s namesake animal. I guess that means 2009 will be a year requiring hard work and patience if we’re going to face the difficult economic and ecological times ahead. Maybe it also means we can’t get caught up in the negative aspects of an ox year. We can’t dig in our hooves and demand things stay the same — even in the face of inevitable and much needed change — because the unknown is too scary. 2009 is a year for plowing head, steadily and strongly, into creating a healthier, more well-rounded world for ourselves and each other.
If you want to learn more about Chinese New Year traditions, log on to 123chinesenewyear.com. To understand more about the Chinese Zodiac, including the symbology of the 12 animals, visit Wikipedia.
– Writeye
Posted on January 25th, 2009 under Current Events • Tags: Chinese New Year symbolism, Year of the Ox symbolism. • 
Print This Post
• 
Email This Post
• RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback