What is the Significance of the chinese new year animals?

Question

What is the Significance of the chinese new year animals? each animal- horse, tiger, rat (mouse), dragon, pig, monkey, dog, ox, sheep, snake, rabbit, rooster

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

I will try to make this easy.
The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, relying on the sun and the moon and is thought to have been utilized from 3,000BC, but true events dating started in 841BC.
anyways, Chinese Astronomers used the 12 year Jupiter cycle as a marker for the 12 months of the year, which was later expanded to counting years.
In the Shang dynasty, ppl believe that there were 10 heavenly suns, each associated with a concept of yin, and yang, and 5 Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water).
Now to the animals, the legens says there was an Emperor who told the animals that they had to cross the river the fastest, who would be the fastest would be allocated a year. The Ox couldnt see well, so he made a deal with the rat who would ride on his back...as they approached the shore, the rat jumped off and arrived first followed by the OX....like this for all other animals.
The correct order is : Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog, Boar.
Each animal also represents your own self, your personality, your way of living, and seeing life, you compatibility with other signs.
You may use this system to know someones age (repetitive 12 year cycle), but you must remember that it is from a Lunar calendar (not the same as Gregorian, like Chinese New Year fro Feb. 18 this year, so if you were born in January 2007, you would still be a Dog, and not a Boar), but Chinese use it more for compatibility and personality traits information.
Kung Hei Fat Choi! Happy New Year of the Boar!

Source(s):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_ast…
TONS of info
Living in Hong Kong for 15 years

Answer 2

These animals are call Chinese zodiac. It have 12 animals in follow: Mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and boar(pig). each animal represent a year. For example if a person who is born in the year of boar then the person's zodiac sign is boar, but the sign has nothing to do with the person's character.