In honor of Chinese New Year, which starts today.
1. On February 7, 2008, be sure to wear red, feast on delicious food, tuck money into your wallet and be loving and kind all day because you’ll be invoking the positive power of the Chinese New Year, filling your life with love and luck.
2. 2008 is the Year of the Rat. Rats are said to be imaginative, charming and very generous to those they love – although they do have a tendency to be quick-tempered and over-critical. They are supposed to make good writers, critics and publicists. I am a rat!
3. Famous Rats include William Shakespeare, Prince Charles and Lauren Bacall.
4. The Rat keeps less attractive characteristics hidden, such as cunning opportunism and a drive to get to the top.
5. A Rat is versatile, accomplished in planning and capable of complex abstract notions.
6. Today is a good day to clear away clutter and junk, which can block good fortune. It’s also the perfect time to wash your hair, as this ensures all last year’s unhappy moments will be washed away forever. And I washed my hair today without even knowing! Note – I’ve just read somewhere that washing hair today is bad luck because you wash away all the coming year’s good luck. I’m sticking with the first one!
7. Whatever you wish for, if you do it on February 7, it’ll be drawn to you all year long. I wrote all day.
8. The Year of the Rat is destined to be busy and productive, a year in which we begin to learn to save energy and resources on both a personal and planetary level.
9. Rats know in order to have a future, they must care for what they have in the present (they are excellent hoarders!). Yes, my hubby would agree with this. He made me clean out drawers in the weekend.
10. Rats are in for a productive and extremely busy year. Leadership qualities you possess are recognised, and people who previously didn’t value your skills suddenly begin to see their relevance and purpose, bringing opportunities to reveal your secret talents.
11. In china, ear plugs are handy at this time to dull the firecracker assaults, and prices of hotel rooms tend to go through the roof.
12. The Chinese calendar is different, more fluid, and its New Year begins on the first new moon of the Chinese solar year. So, while this year the year of the Rat begins on the 7th of February, last year’s year of the Pig began on February 18.
13. According to Chinese legend, the twelve animals quarreled one day as to who was to head the cycle of years. The gods were asked to decide and they held a contest: whoever was to reach the opposite bank of the river would be first, and the rest of the animals would receive their years according to their finish.
All the twelve animals gathered at the river bank and jumped in. Unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped upon his back. As the ox was about to jump ashore, the rat jumped off the ox’s back, and won the race. The pig, who was very lazy, ended up last. That is why the rat is the first year of the animal cycle, the ox second, and the pig last.
What sign are you? Check here to find out. Do you think this is an accurate character assessment?
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February 7th, 2008 at 12:35 am · Link
How interesting – especially the facts that I picked up a red hoodie this morning, washed my hair, plan to spend the day alternating between writing and quilting (my two loves) and will be going out to eat with my girlfriends this evening. Looks like I’m starting the new year off right!
February 7th, 2008 at 2:26 am · Link
Hey Shelley! I went to the hairdresser and had my hair coloured and shampooed and my scalp massaged and altogether had a wonderful relaxing time. If that’s what’s coming to me all year I’m so there! Darn, and I could’ve warn red too, if only I’d known!
Yvonne… a rabbit
February 7th, 2008 at 6:18 am · Link
I’ll have to do a little cleaning and declottering today in order to celebrate it. Last year The Fire Pig treated me badly. I hope this Earth Rat is kinder with me. Maybe it’ll be. After all, I was born in the hour of the Rat. *winks*
February 7th, 2008 at 6:37 am · Link
I’m the “Dog”. Apparently, I missed my calling would have made a good secret agent. LOL!
February 7th, 2008 at 8:03 am · Link
I’m a horse. Actually very apropos since my father raised and raced horses all my growing up years, but I think I should have been…you guessed it!…a DRAGON *lol*
Great list! Thanks for sharing.
February 7th, 2008 at 8:23 am · Link
I was born in the year of the monkey. Interesting.
Love this Shelley.
You are a very intelligent and a very lever wit. Because of your extraordinary nature and magnetic personality, you are always well-liked. The Monkey,however, must guard against begin an opportunist and distrustful of other people. Your sign promises success in any field you try. Some Monkeys:Julius Caesar, Bette Davis, Annie Oakley, Eleanor Roosevelt, Betsy Ross, Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor, Harry S. Truman, Leonardo da Vinci, Alice Walker.
February 7th, 2008 at 8:59 am · Link
I’m a tiger, but I want to be a rat.
February 7th, 2008 at 9:51 am · Link
Great list-so fascinating. I’m wearing red! Gonna wash my good luck hair! :)
February 7th, 2008 at 9:52 am · Link
Very cool!
*hugs*
Paige
My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/
February 7th, 2008 at 10:08 am · Link
February 7th, 2008 at 11:01 am · Link
I’m with Jen McKenzie, another monkey. I have two monkey children, does that count as being accurate?
Great list, Shelley, thanks for sharing!
Mine’s up at: http://impulsivehearts.wordpress.com/
February 7th, 2008 at 12:25 pm · Link
Love it, Shelly! I’m off to do some writing with the rest of my day.
February 7th, 2008 at 12:55 pm · Link
Cool facts about the rats and Chinese New Year!
~Harris.
February 7th, 2008 at 1:10 pm · Link
You can wash you hair the night before, but you shouldn’t wash it on New Year’s day because you’ll be washing the good luck away. You also shouldn’t sweep the house today for the same reason.
February 7th, 2008 at 1:14 pm · Link
Lucky me! The day’s nearly half over, but I managed to hit the gym in my Diva’s t-shirt (the one with the big red lips), tuck a ten-spot I found in the dryer into my wallet, and I didn’t insult my boss (even though I wanted to). I did it all right.
February 7th, 2008 at 1:34 pm · Link
Jane – ah, so that’s what it is. My search on the Internet said both ways. It depended on the site whether it was good luck or bad luck.
February 7th, 2008 at 1:34 pm · Link
Here’s wishing everyone the very best Year of the Rat.
February 7th, 2008 at 2:27 pm · Link
I was wondering why I had this overpowering urge to clean and declutter my children’s room. For four hours I worked, got two garbage bags full and rearranged the furniture. Now I understand.
Of course I was scolding them a few times when they were fighting, and I’m wearing blue.
I’m a horse.
February 7th, 2008 at 2:39 pm · Link
Huh…I did all of number one today (wore a red Badger hoodie, tucked loose change into my coin purse, and had homemade chicken noodle soup for lunch) without even realizing there was any significance, and the work day had definitely been “busy and productive”– almost too much so!
February 7th, 2008 at 4:22 pm · Link
I’m fairly certain that I’m a tiger.
Happy TT.
February 7th, 2008 at 5:49 pm · Link
I wish I’d read your blog post before the end of the day, but I did wear red and eat delicious food.
February 7th, 2008 at 9:29 pm · Link
I wore pink….no red maternity shirts. Hubba brought Chinese for dinner because I was exhausted all day. Baby must be growing eyelashes or something!
I’m a dragon – which is an idea with promise!
February 8th, 2008 at 12:09 am · Link
I went out with my friends last night and ate fabulous sushi – started the new year right!
February 8th, 2008 at 12:13 am · Link
Oops. I read this post thinking it was still Thursday and feeling really happy because I spent the whole day getting back into the writing swing. then I realised it’s actually Friday! I hope this isn’t a omen that the rest of the year is going to be equally confusing for me
I’m a tiger and my husband is a rat!
February 9th, 2008 at 11:54 am · Link
Happy Year of the Rat!
February 9th, 2008 at 5:28 pm · Link
Great New Year post, Shelley! I’m a dragon – rats and dragons get along great. Let’s have a visit some day.
February 10th, 2008 at 9:32 pm · Link
AWESOME TT! I’m a dog… and ..
Yeah – that’s pretty accurate! Me, Cher and Socrates… we’re like *this*…