HAPPY YEAR
OF THE OX
TO ALL
The Chinese astrological calendar (also adopted widely by other East Asian cultures) names years after animals in a twelve-year cycle. Last year was the year of the rat, and next year will be the year of the tiger. 2009 is the “Year of the Ox.”
While the Chinese still keep to the traditional lunar year for astrological events, Japan (where I have lived and worked) has switched to the new-fangled solar calendar and begins its year on January first like rest of the world. We’ll get another chance to wish everyone a Happy New Year on January 26th when the lunar new year rolls around and the Chinese celebrate.
A lunar month is approximately 29.53059 days (or about 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 2.8 seconds). This means that there are about 12.37 lunar months to a solar year. A little more often than every third solar year, an extra intercalary month has to be added to the lunar year so that the two calendars are kept in approximate synchronization. There will be an extra month dropped into the lunar calendar after the fifth lunar month and before the sixth lunar month in 2009. Even worse than being born on February 29th and celebrating your birthday only once every four years, would be being born in an intercalary month, such as the up-coming Month Five-and-a-Half and celebrating your birthday only once every 30 to 40 years.
The Japanese calendar that I have up for this year shows a “happy family” of cattle. There’s a cheerful bull, a contented and maternal-looking cow, a young heifer, and a cavorting young male calf or yearling who would be known as a mickie in Australia. Only the Australian version of English seems to have a specific word for a young UNcastrated male member of the species Bos taurus. He can expect to be castrated during the upcoming year, as statistically most young male cattle are, becoming a steer (for beef) or ox (for work).
The Chinese clearly had the castrated version in mind for the calendrical year, and thought “ox,” not “steer.”
In the traditional Chinese astrological system, those born in any given year are believed to have some of the characteristics attributed to that year’s animal. “Ox people” are thought to be placid. (Maybe related to the “eunuch calm”?) They are also thought to be diligent and hard working. They are dependable and modest. The Chinese would say that they are kind and caring souls. They tend to be intelligent individuals who don’t take kindly to being told what to do.
They tend also to be social and have many friends. Does this bode well for the August 2009 MoM in Minneapolis? Maybe I need to get started on a T-shirt design with an ox, rather than the 2008 version with a dog and cat….
I wish you all the very best during this Year of the Archive.
Ernie.