The Year Of The Rabbit

Today marks the first day of the Chinese New Year. It is the year of the golden rabbit, and the celebration lasts for 15 days.

The Chinese New Year starts with the new moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The entire Chinese calendar is based around solar and lunar movements.

The Chinese zodiac consists of 12 animal signs, and the rabbit is the forth sign. The rabbit has some of the following characteristics:

The rabbit is very lucky

Individuals whose sign is the rabbit are private and introverted, and will avoid confrontation at all costs, but are also very friendly and enjoy good company

Rabbits are wise, keen, fragile, serene, considerate, fashionable and kind

Being intelligent and quick, like a rabbit, they can often talk themselves out of any situation

Despite disliking hostility of any kind, rabbits happen to be very strong-willed and strong-minded

They do things slowly and in a precise manner due to their characteristic of being cautious in all situations

The list goes on and on. To see a full profile of the rabbit and all that is en-"tails" (pun intended), go here.

According to Chinese tradition, the Rabbit brings a year in which you can catch your breath and calm your nerves. It is a time for negotiation. Don't try to force issues, because if you do you will ultimately fail. To gain the greatest benefits from this time, focus on home, family, security, diplomacy, and your relationships with women and children. Make it a goal to create a safe, peaceful lifestyle, so you will be able to calmly deal with any problem that may arise.

The year of the rabbit ends on January 22, 2012, in which the dragon will then take over that following February.

To read more about Chinese zodiac, go here.

To view a video of the new year celebrations, go here.