PETIGREE MAGAZINE Issue 3 | Page 9

FEATURE stolen are twelve bronze heads of the animals of the Chinese zodiac .

Fruits Basket , the monthly Japanese manga series , has characters that are possessed by spirits of the Chinese zodiac and turn into their zodiac animal when they are hugged by the opposite gender , are weak , or under stress . Fruits Basket is a fun way to discover more about the zodiac .

Gear Up For Year Of The Horse !

The Chinese New Year , also known as the Chinese Spring Festival , is considered to be most auspicious event in the Chinese calendar . It has a rich tradition which goes back over 4,000 years during the reign of the Shang Dynasty ( 11th- 17th century B . C .) The Chinese solar terms herald the start of the spring season as the beginning of a new year , so the first day of the spring season marks the New Year ’ s Day in China . Although the Chinese have adopted the use of the Western calendar since 1911 A . D ., festive occasions such as the Chinese New Year still follow the lunar calendar dates . To avoid disagreements or confusion , both solar and lunar calendar dates can be found in most Chinese calendars today .

The upcoming New Year is the year of the horse and the festival scheduled for 31st January , 2014 will be marking the beginning of the Chinese year 4712 . Expect to witness celebrations in various parts of the world . Several news channels will be showing live coverage of the celebrations in China ; make sure not to miss it .

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