Learning about China - Part 1

I thought that over the next few weeks leading up to Chinese New Year, I would post some of the info I have been learning about China, the culture, and the New Years celebration.

So here is my first post of interesting info on the holiday of Chinese New Year:

2009 is the Year of the Ox,which is also known by its formal name of Yi Chou. 己丑
2008 is the Year of the Rat,which is also known by its formal name of Wu Zi.

January 26, 2009 is the first day of the Chinese new year.

There are three ways to name a Chinese year:
-By an animal (like a mscot). 2008 is known as the Year of the Rat. 2009 is the Year of the Ox. There are 12 animal names; so by this system, year names are repeated every 12 years.
-By its Formal Name (Stem-Branch). 2008 is the year of Wu Zi.
2009 is the Year of Ji Chou.
-2008 year is Year 4705 in the Chinese Calendar.
2009 is Year 4706 in the Chinese Calendar.

Each year is also designated by one of the 12 Animals For instance, 2005 is Year of Rooster; 2006 is Year of Dog; and 2007 is the Year of Pig. 2008 is the Year of the Rat
This system is extremely practical. A child does not have to learn a new answer to the question, "How old are you?" in each new year. Old people often lose track of their age, because they are rarely asked about their present age. Every one just have to remember that he or she was born in the "Year of the Dog" or whatever.
Since 2008 is the Year of the Rat, any one who was born in the Year of the Rat is either 1 or 13, 25, 37, 49, 61, 73, 85 or 97 years old. When 2009 comes, the person is still born in the Year of the Rat. but he/she is 2,14, 26, 38, 50, 62, 74, 86 or 98 yeas old.Thus, instead of asking the question "How old are you?", ask the person "In which (animal) year were you born?"

The Chinese calls the New Year's Celebration the "Spring Festival."

Here is a link to some yummy recipes for Chinese New Year: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Chinese-New-Year-2009/Detail.aspx