Chinese New Year 2016 – The Year Of The Monkey Begins On February 8

Question: When does the Chinese New Year 2016 begin?

Answer:  – The 2016 Chinese New Year, which starts on February 8, will be celebrated across the globe by more than a billion people, making it one of the world’s biggest holidays. The festivities last for 15 days.

The Chinese New Year is based on a traditional lunar calendar, rather than the modern calendar now used in the majority of countries (including China), and represents a “way of ancestors keeping track of the flow of time.”

The lunar New Year starts after the second full moon to occur after the winter solstice, hence the February start date.

The festival reportedly traces its origins to the Shang Dynasty (between 1600 BC and 1100 BC), when people offered sacrifices to gods and ancestors to mark the end of an old year and the beginning of a New Year.

See also: When Was The First New Year Celebration?

A legendary wild beast named Nien (or “year”) was thought to attack people at the end of the old year. Villagers would use loud noises and bright lights to scare the creature away, a practice that slowly morphed into the Chinese New Year festivities.

While the Western zodiac system is divided into 12 months, the Chinese zodiac is divided into 12 years. Each year is associated with an animal: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. People are said to be influenced by the personality of the animal that rules their birth year.

2016 is the year of the monkey.

MessageToEagle.com

Source:
Huffington Post