Happy New Year!

The year of the Rat! (I don't have a rat, just a dragon.)





From http://www.chinapage.com/newyear.html

There are three ways to name a Chinese year:

1. By an animal (like a mscot).
2008 is known as the Year of the Rat.
There are 12 animal names; so by this system, year names are re-cycled every 12 years.

More.
1. By its Formal Name (Stem-Branch).
   This year is the year of Wu Zi.

   In the 'Stem-Branch' system, the years are named in 60-year cycles, and the Name of the Year is repeated every 60 years.
   2008 is the 9th year in the current 60-year cycle.

2. Current year is Year 4705 by the Chinese calendar.

   [A few Chinese astrological/zodiac websites believe this year should be considered as Year 4706 for zodiac calculations.]

Thought I'd take this chance to show off my sushi sets, once again. Once I get motivated, I'll actually start listing these!