Out with the dog, in with the pig: Happy Lunar New Year!

February begins a new year of celebration dedicated to honoring the 12th animal of the Chinese Zodiac: the Pig.

As the year of the dog came to an end on Jan, 21, 2019, great plans of celebration and yearly tradition to help bring in the Lunar New Year were made.

According to the nypost.com, “The Chinese new year, also known as Lunar New year, begins on the new moon that appears between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20 of every year.”

This year, that new moon fell on Feb. 5.

Part of the great celebrations in China during this time of year involve celebrational uses of fireworks and firecrackers. But, these are used for more than just pretty lights in the sky. The use of fireworks and firecrackers are believed to help ward off evil spirits from doing any harm to anyone in the upcoming year.

Also among the great line up of celebrations, and yearly traditions, that occur during this time of year is the special time devoted to remembering those who have passed. Friends and Family come together to send out prayers to those who have passed on, either from the past year or previous years before, so that these loved ones are never too far away.

These ceremonies, and others like them, are practiced all the way up until the Lantern Festival which traditionally falls on the 15th day of the New Year. The Lantern Festival is also one of last major ceremonies practiced during the Lunar New Year celebrations.

The Lunar New Year celebrations of 2019, however, bring in a whole new reason to celebrate as we move from another year of honoring the dog to another year of the honoring the pig, which is the 12th and last animal in the Chinese zodiac.

A short story that is written on the chinesenewyear.net website, states: “According to one myth, the Jade emperor said the order (Zodiac) would be decided in which they (Animals) arrived to his party. Pig was late because he overslept.”

The years in which Pig has gracefully showed his presence are 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007 and 2019.

Those born during the year of the pig hold one of the strongest character traits within their personalities; they are doers. Despite pigs having an image of being lazy and terribly messy animals, those born under this Chinese zodiac are a lot more action then talk, even more so than the rest of the animals in the zodiac.

When pigs say that they are going to do something, they never fail to follow through with it.

Pigs also tend to be good with money; however, they are not afraid to spend money on lavish and luxurious things that make them happy. For some people this may seem to be very irresponsible and materialistic behavior, but ultimately this just leads pigs to wanting to work harder for the things that they want.

According to the chinesenewyear.net website, 2019 proves to be a challenging year for pigs and will lead them to a lot of ups and downs along their journey, but if pigs can remain focused and persevere through what may lie ahead then these challenges will help them grow and develop a strength that may lead them to great future success.

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