Chinese Zodiac

There was a story to the origins of the 12 chinese zodiac animals. It was said that once the Buddha summoned all the animals to see him on the begining of the Lunar New Year and only the first 12 animals will be selected to run a race to determine the 12 zodiac animals representing time and year.

Then, the cat and the rat were good friends. But the cat was lazy and went to bed, asking the rat to wake him up when it was time to go. But the rat was selfish, believing that the cat would outrun him. So he left the cat to sleep causing the cat to miss the appointment. Thus cat was not one of the 12 zodiac animals and it was also for this reason that cats chases and catches the rats. It was also said that the rat hid on the buffalo who raced hard to reach the destination, only for the rat to spring forward to gain first spot at the race.

There was also another story, the dragon and snake was really not much of a difference in form. So in order to win the race, the dragon went to the rooster who had 3 pairs of legs to borrow 2 pairs from the rooster, promising to return them after the race. With these borrowed legs, the dragon outran the snake. After the dragon had won the race, he refuses to return the legs to the rooster. That's why the rooster was left with only 2 legs.

Now, it is believed that one would also adopt the characteristics of the zodiac animal he was born under. For example, a dragon year born person will have full of vitality and enthusiam and is a popular individual. Therefore dragon year a favourite time to give birth. Likewise, it is not favourable to have a baby girl to be born at night in the year of the Tiger as she may be fierce like a tiger who will hunt at night. However this too is too general to characterise a person born in that year.