The Chinese system of zodiac is actually based on a ten-year Sun-Moon cycle that conforms to the ancient Chinese agricultural calendar. The cycle is divided into the five elements: Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal as well as the twelve animals, which represent each year. The system is influenced by Yin (female) and Yang (male) cosmic force, which is said to be an interpretation of universal harmony and balance.

The Legend
Legend has it that once upon a time, the Heavenly God realized that there hadn't been a system to keep track of time, so he decided to develop a calendar system. One day, he summoned the Earth God to hold a race for the animals inhabiting the earth. So the Earth God gathered all the animals, and announced that the first twelve animals to cross the river would be the signs in the zodiac calendar. What a great honor to be in the zodiac calendar!!! All the animals chattered excitedly, and all wanted to join the race to win their spot in the calendar.

After the announcement, the Cat turned to his best friend the Rat to express his deep concern. "How can I cross the river when I am afraid of water?" At the same time, the old Ox grumbled to himself, and said, "How can I cross the river with my poor eyesight?"

The intelligent Rat looked at the Cat, then the Ox, and then a brilliant idea entered his mind, "I've got it! We can hop on the Ox's back to guide him, and he can carry us across the river without us getting wet!". All three of them agreed this was a great plan. So, early before dawn on race day, the Rat, the Cat, and the Ox were cruising slowly in the river, leaving all the competition behind. Just as they reached the middle of the river, the calculating Rat sneaked up behind the unsuspecting Cat and pushed him off the back of the Ox into the river.

Unaware of the commotion on his back, the hard-working Ox paddled straight ahead and finally reached the shore. Instantaneously, the aggressive Rat jumped off the back of the Ox and raced to cross the finish line first, while the serious, eduring Ox finished in second place.

At the same time, all the other animals were struggling to cross the river. The courageous Tiger raced to the finish line in third place; the Rabbit, the Dragon, along with the Snake also reached the finish line. The Horse arrived with the artistic Sheep. The Monkey was given ninth, the Rooster tenth and the Dog came in eleventh.

Meanwhile, the Heavenly God counted the animals and suddently realized they were one animal short. At this moment, the meticulous Pig arrived just before the race came to an end and was given the twelfth spot. A moment later, the poor Cat arrived soaking wet and found out he was too late to win any place in the race. Needless to say, from that day on, the Rat has been the Cat's sworn enemy.

In the end, the Heavenly God was quite pleased with the results and gladly gave each animal a year of its own, bestowing the nature and characteristics of each animal to those born in that year.

Happy Chinese New Year .....