Bye bye Babe

Say goodbye to 4705, the year of the pig. And bye bye to the debate on whether it is golden or earth pig, and whether it happens every 60 or 600 years. Human nature is just like that. When everybody says it is good, you also want to have a piece of it. So I hear there were a lot of couples trying to have babies born in the year of the pig.

In the Chinese zodiac, the pig is the last of the 12 animals to arrive for some divine meeting. Why? Did the pig oversleep? In some cultures, the pig is associated with unpopular human attributes such as stupid, fat, lazy and oversleep. Pigs are seen as dirty both in the physical and spiritual context in some religious beliefs. And since Babe sounded like 'babi' in the Malay language, it was subsequently renamed 'khinzir' in movie theatres in Malaysia. Yet, pig meat or pork, ham, bacon etc. is widely devoured by the human race.

According to the Chinese zodiac, the pig carries good qualities such as being honest, straightforward and patient. She is shy, modest, down-to-earth, warm-hearted and homely. She is not vengeful and when someone tries to take advantage of her, she tends to withdraw to reflect on the problem and protect herself. She just needs a little time to find a constructive way to respond. She is not weak and will fight and defend if the need arises.

Read more about pig.

And say hello to 4706, the year of the rat. Rats also are not a very respectable lot judging from the numerous phrases associated with them e.g. - You dirty rat! You smelly little rat! However, Western cartoonists are very fond of using mice and rats for their comic characters. Rats are also a popular delicacy in some parts of Asia. They are also used in laboratory experiments as guinea pigs (oops, pigs again) for trial drugs and others all in the name of saving the human race. How can human beings be so cruel to these lovable creatures?











In the Chinese zodiac, the rat is the first to arrive. Numero uno, ok? It beat the horse or even the dragon to the meeting. How did it do it?

According to the Chinese zodiac, the rat type is very sociable, very quick to react to situations and extremely hard-working. She is usually strong-willed and ambitious. She is very good at multitasking and hence a very organized person. Because she is a goal-oriented person, she may seem selfish or stubborn. Actually it is just that she believes in what she is doing and approaches it whole-heartedly. Also, she is the type of person who needs to be understood and do not like being pushed around. And she jealously guards her privacy.

Read more about rats here and here.

Here is an interesting version of the story of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. I am sure you will enjoy it.