MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Thursday will be the start of a very interesting year as it marks the Chinese New Year and the beginning of the year of the monkey.
There are several legends explaining the "junishi," the 12 animal signs of the Oriental zodiac. One legend said that Buddha called all the animals of the world to come and pay homage to him, however only 12 came.
The rat was the first to arrive since he had hitched a ride on the back on the ox and jumped off just before meeting Buddha. Following the rat and the ox were the tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and wild boar. As a reward, a year was named after each of them according to the order they arrived.
Another legend said the animals were arguing about who would lead the cycle of years. The gods decided to hold a contest and have the animals swim across the river. Again, the rat jumped on the back of the ox and jumped off at the last moment.
The animals received their years in the order they arrived at the opposite bank.
Many people in Japan and China
expect people to display the characteristics of the animal, or sign, of the year they were born. Since monkeys can do anything, the birthrate in Asian countries usually increases dramatically in the year of the monkey.
Many Japanese matchmakers, also called "nakodo," carefully consider couple's compatibility based on their birth years before arranging a marriage.
People born in the year of the monkey are considered lively, likable, highly sociable and witty. These people are talkative and fascinating conversationalists. They love to have fun and tell jokes as well as have adventures.
However their friendliness is often a ruse. While they are clever, they tend to feel they are much smarter than everyone else.
They can be manipulative and tricky and are very good at getting others to do things for them. This also makes it very difficult for others to trick or fool people born under the sign of the monkey.
Furthermore, people born in the year of the monkey get bored easily and are quick to turn the mundane into adventures. Even with the most routine and boring of jobs, they look for ways to make the jobs more fun for everyone involved. They are great at finding opportunities for fun, adventure and business.
The best marriage partners for those born in the year of the monkey would be those born in the years of the monkey, rat, ox or dragon.
Other considerable matches are with those born in the years of the tiger, wild boar and rabbit.
The worst possible matches would be with someone born in the years of the horse, sheep, dog or rooster.
Some of the more famous people born in the year of the monkey are Will Smith, Julius Caesar, Elizabeth Taylor, Harry S. Truman, Jennifer Anniston, Joan Crawford, Gillian Anderson, James Stewart and Omar Shariff.
This article was compiled from several sources on the Internet.