2018 Year of the Dog

It’s the start of the Chinese New Year this Friday 16th February. Known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival, it’s the biggest celebration of the Chinese calendar and is all about families coming together and wishing each other peace and prosperity.

The dates for Chinese New Year differ each year as it is based on the lunar calendar, however it normally falls between 21st January and 20th February. The Chinese New Year has been associated with the Chinese Zodiac since the Spring Autumn Period (771 to 476 BC) during the Zhou dynasty.

A zodiac animal on the lunar-solar Chinese calendar is represented annually. People are said to have similar personality traits to the animal named after the year they were born. The Chinese Zodiac runs on a cycle of 12 years, with each year denoting one of the 12 animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. This year it’s the turn of the Dog: you’re a Dog if you were born in 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 or 2018.

According to Chinese astrology, each zodiac year is also associated with one of the five elements (Gold, Water, Wood, Earth, and Fire). 2018 is an Earth Dog year, and 2019 will be an Earth Pig year. Each zodiac sign has five types and each element with a given sign recurs every 60 years.

Some famous Earth Dogs are Madonna and Michael Jackson.

The Dog’s personality

Dogs are loyal and honest, amiable and kind, cautious and prudent. They have a strong sense of loyalty and sincerity and will do everything for the person they consider most important.

As Dogs are not good at communication, it can be difficult for them to convey their thoughts to others. Therefore, Dogs can often leave others with the impression that they have a stubborn personality.

Born with a good nature, Dogs do not tend to be criminals or seek dishonest gains! They simply seek a quiet life and a good family and are always ready to help others.

Overall, Dogs enjoy good health as they tend to be happy most of the time. They enjoy sports and an outdoor lifestyle so are resilient to illnesses, rarely succumbing to coughs and colds.

Best careers for Dogs

Due to their loyal personality, Dogs are seen as valuable employees. They work hard and put their heart and soul into their tasks. They are easy going and kind, and always ready to alleviate the workload of others, which makes them very popular with their colleagues.

Recommended careers for Dogs include police officer, scientist, counsellor, interior designer, professor, politician, priest, nurse, clerk and judge.

The luckiest things for Dogs

• Lucky numbers: 3, 4, 9, and numbers containing them (like 34 and 49)
• Lucky days: the 7th and 28th of every Chinese lunar month
• Lucky colours: red, green, and purple
• Lucky flowers: rose, cymbidium orchids
• Lucky directions: east, south and northeast
• Lucky months: the 6th, 10th, and 12th Chinese lunar months

Unlucky things for Dogs

• Unlucky colours: blue, white, gold
• Unlucky numbers: 1, 6, and 7
• Unlucky direction: southeast
• Unlucky months: the 5th and 8th Chinese lunar months