2012 Year of the Dragon
The Dragon is one of the most powerful and lucky signs in the Chinese zodiac, with many believing there is a balance between heaven and earth in the lives of people born in the Year of the Dragon. As well as being blessed with good fortune, Dragons are innovative, flexible, self-assured and passionate, making good artists, diplomats and politicians. However, Dragons can also be stubborn, intense and quick tempered. 2012 is the Year of the Water Dragon, with water having a calming influence on Dragons’ fearless temperament, and also making them more perceptive of others.
- Chinese New Year’s Day 2012: 23 January
- Dragon lucky gemstone: Opal, sapphire and amber
- Dragon lucky colours: Gold and black
- Most compatible signs for Dragons: Rat, Snake, Monkey and Rooster
- Most incompatible signs for Dragons: Dog
People born in the Year of the Dragon include: Gough Whitlam, Al Pacino, Bruce Lee, Casey Donovan, Emily Browning, Fats Domino, Elle Macpherson, Sigmund Freud, Gregory Peck, John Lennon, Grace Cossington Smith, Ken Done, Martin Sheen, Reese Witherspoon, Russell Crowe, Salvador Dali, Sandra Bullock, Melissa George, James Blundell, John Bell and Shirley Temple.
Other Chinese zodiac signs are:
- Rat (1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008)
- Ox (1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009)
- Tiger (1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010)
- Rabbit (1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011)
- Dragon (1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012)
- Snake (1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013)
- Horse (1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014)
- Sheep (1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015)
- Monkey (1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016)
- Rooster (1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017)
- Dog (1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018)
- Pig (1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019)
About Chinese New Year
The Lunar New Year is celebrated around the world by the many cultures that observe the lunar calendar. Festivities begin on the first new moon of spring (in the northern hemisphere) or autumn (in the southern hemisphere), and end 15 days later as the full moon rises in the sky.
Greet people with Happy New Year to bring good fortune and prosperity:
Kung Hei Fat Choy – Cantonese
Gong Xi Far Tsai – Mandarin
Sae Hae Bok Manee Badusaeyo – Korean
Chúc Mừng Năm Mới – Vietnamese
Lunar New Year Traditions & Customs
There are many traditions and customs associated with the festival, here are some of the commonly practiced that you might like to try:
- Wear new clothes on New Year’s Day (January 23 in 2012) and be on your best behaviour, as actions on this day set the tone for the year to follow.
- Enjoy a new year banquet, keeping an empty seat to symbolise the presence of family members who can’t be there.
- Eat fish on the eve of Chinese New Year (January 22), and keep some stored for the next day. The Chinese phrase “may there be surpluses every year” sounds the same as “may there be fish every year”.
- Enjoy a bowl of traditional Korean duk gook, a soup of thinly sliced rice cakes, to represent a clean start to the new year.
- Serve uncut noodles as they represent longevity.
- Wear red, as the colour scares away evil spirits and bad fortune.
- Give red lai-see (“lucky money”) envelopes to pass on prosperity and good luck.
- Clean your house and sweep out the bad luck of the previous year.
- Decorate your house with apricot and peach blossom, symbolic for new beginnings and sold during Vietnamese Tet.
- Say farewell to the Kitchen God, the guardian of the family hearth. As he reports to heaven on the behaviour of the family over the past year, make sure to feed him sweet foods and honey, either as a bribe, or to seal his mouth and prevent him from saying bad things.
- Pay off all debts and cast aside all grudges.