A very happy Chinese New Year to you all! If you didn’t already know, this year sees the Year of The Pig, which is the 12th zodiac sign and the Pig represents wealth, earthliness and beautiful personality.
The pig is the last of the signs. The celebration of Chinese New Year heavily relies on decorations which contain symbols and writing. From Lantern Festivals, paintings, Spring Festival, and door Gods to paper cutting arts which all contain elements of symbols and writings.
The Pig is also associated with the Earthly Branch (地支—dì zhī) hài (亥), and the hours 9–11 in the night. In terms of yin and yang (阴阳—yīn yáng), the Pig is yin. In Chinese culture, pigs are the symbol of wealth.
According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the Zodiac order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. There are two stories why the pig was late, one because he overslept and the other says that a wolf destroyed his house. He had to rebuild his home before he could set off and when he arrived he was the last one and could only take twelfth place.
We would like to wish you all a very happy Chinese New year and we hope you enjoy the celebrations!
For those born in the year of the Pig, here are a few interesting facts!
Lucky things for Pigs
- Colors: yellow, grey, brown
- Numbers: 2, 5, 8
- Mineral: agate
- Directions of auspiciousness: southeast, east
- Directions of wealth: northeast
- Directions of love: north
Unlucky things
- Colors: blue, green
- Numbers: 1, 7, 9
Plus some fantastic artwork from Jianguo Ding
