Chinese New Year is coming – the year of the OX.

Friday, February 12th, 2021

Chinese New Year 2021 falls on Friday, February 12th, 2021, and celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on February 26th, 2021.

Celebrations last up to 16 days, but only the first 7 days are considered a public holiday (February 11th–17th, 2021)

Chinese New Year marks the transition between zodiac signs: 2021 is the year of the Ox; 2020 the year of the Rat — which might explain a lot about 2020 …

The Ox is the second of all zodiac animals. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. The Ox was about to be the first to arrive, but Rat tricked Ox into giving him a ride. Then, just as they arrived, Rat jumped down and landed ahead of Ox. Thus, Ox became the second animal.

The Ox is also associated with the Earthly Branch (地支 / dì zhī) Chǒu (丑) and the hours 1–3 in the morning. In the terms of yin and yang (阴阳 / yīn yáng), the Ox is Yang.

Oxen are the hard workers in the background, intelligent and reliable, but never demanding praise.

In Chinese culture, the Ox is a valued animal. Because of its role in agriculture, positive characteristics, such as being hardworking and honest, are attributed to it.

Paired with the Celestial Stems (天干 / Tiān gān), there is a 60-year calendrical cycle. Although chǒu is associated with earth, the years also cycle through the five elements of nature (五行 / wǔ xíng).