We’re moving into the Lunar New Year. It may seem less than important to some of us… but… Lunar New Year is a major holiday in a fairly large number of Asian countries, and in the Asian diaspora. Chinese New Year is a holiday we enjoy and look forward to, and of course it celebrates the Lunar New Year. Let’s begin with a definition of Lunar New Year from Brittanica [LINK].
“Lunar calendar, any dating system based on a year consisting of synodic months—i.e., complete cycles of phases of the Moon. In every solar year (or year of the seasons) there are about 12.37 synodic months. Therefore, if a lunar-year calendar is to be kept in step with the seasonal year, a periodic intercalation (addition) of days is necessary.”
A little more easily understood definition shows up in a google search:
“A lunar calendar is a calendar that tracks the phases of the moon, or synodic months, to determine the months, weeks, and days of the year. The moon’s phases are the regular changes in the moon’s shape as seen from Earth.”
Google tells us that one full cycle of phases is 29.5 days, and twelve lunar months is about 354 days. We also find some examples of lunar calendars:
*Islamic calendar: The most widely used purely lunar calendar. Ramadan is celebrated in the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
*Sumerian calendar: One of the first calendars based on the moon’s phases.
*Hebrew calendar: A lunisolar calendar used by the Jewish people.
*Hindu calendar: A lunar calendar with 12 months.
Chinese New Year – the Wood Snake!!
When looking into the Chinese New Year celebrations, one of the most enjoyable journeys is into the twelve zodiac animal signs. This year’s animal, for the 2025 Lunar New Year, is the wood snake! What does the wood snake predict? Let’s see if we can find out.
First of all, in the Chinese zodiac, each year is represented by one of 12 zodiac animals. The 12 animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
2025 Predictions – the Wood Snake
Here below is the information from Google on what 2025 should bring according to the Chinese zodiac:
The Year of the Wood Snake begins on January 29, 2025, and ends on February 12. The Lunar New Year and the Chinese New Year are one and the same. The snake is the sixth animal in the Chinese zodiac cycle.
What does the Year of the Wood Snake mean?
- The snake symbolizes mystery, complexity, transformation, and initiation.
- The wood element is associated with growth and creativity.
- The Year of the Wood Snake is said to be a time of strategic thinking, adaptability, and prosperity.
What can we expect in the Year of the Wood Snake?
- Career: People working in creative or analytical fields, such as education, research, and the arts, may have an advantage.
- Finances: Financial growth may be gradual but steady. Thoughtful investments and strategic planning can lead to economic stability.
- Relationships: Charm may attract positive outcomes in relationships.
- Health: It may be important to take care of health by avoiding an irregular diet, overwork, and getting enough sleep.
- Personal growth: The snake can represent personal evolution and healing.
What is Your Animal?
The year of the wood snake sounds pretty positive!! Also, in the Chinese zodiac, readers can find out their birth animal and the attributes of that animal. For example… if a person was born in 1968 their animal will be the Monkey and the personality traits will be… sharp, smart, curiosity. This [LINK] will take readers to the Creative Arts Guild website and a PDF where the animals/years are listed.
At another entertaining website called China Highlights [LINK], we find out that the monkey’s lucky colors are white, blue and gold. We’re entering the year of the snake so let’s see… the snake’s lucky numbers are 2, 8 and 9, the lucky colors are black, red and yellow and the lucky flowers are the orchid and cactus.
China Highlights gives us some more fun information: “There is an interesting legend about the origin of Chinese zodiac. The Jade Emperor wanted to select 12 animals to be his palace guards. He preferred the Ox to be the first for its honesty and diligence, but out of everyone’s expectation, the smart Rat covertly hid on the Ox’s back and occupied the first place at the essential moment. The Tiger was crowned as the King of the Forest while the Dragon was titled the Lord of the Sea, and they ranked behind the Ox. The Rabbit won a race with the Dragon and gained No. 4. The Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, and Rooster followed. The Dog was punished to be the last one for biting the Rabbit in a pet. Actually the Dog was the 11th, because there is one being late for the interview – the Pig finally took the last place.”
Where are the Celebrations?
Wikipedia gives us the following list of areas where the Lunar New Year is celebrated. The list is so broad that recently the UN made the Lunar New Year an official floating holiday: Middle East, West Asia, East Asia, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, South Asia, India, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Singapore and North America.
The celebrations are going to be taking place until February 12th, so we encourage readers to look for colorful parades and parties happening near you. At this YouTube [LINK] readers can enjoy last year’s Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco!!
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