So what does the year of the monkey mean? After the Chinese New Year on February 8, the Year of the Monkey (Fire) begins in 2016. It sounds ominous, but don’t worry, you don’t need to arm yourself.
According to the Chinese zodiac, most of us will experience a year of excitement and intelligence. But for those born under the sign of the monkey, special precautions must be observed to avoid possible misfortune.
Ending the Year of the Goat in 2015, a yin year of peace and goal-oriented steadfastness, the 2016 Year of the Monkey, a fire monkey, is expected to shake things up a bit.
About the monkey sign
The monkey is in the ninth position of the Chinese zodiac and is considered a “yang” animal. The element of feng shui is fire, which makes vibrant reds even more auspicious than usual.
Monkeys are considered fiery and passionate in both romance and business, yet they tend to get bored easily and move too quickly to the next big thing. Many famous writers, actors, directors, and inventors were born during the Year of the Monkey.
Some monkey traits are considered positive:
- Curious
- Creative
- Smart
- Playful
- Sociable
Some monkey traits are considered negative:
- Harmful
- Stubborn
- Highly strung
- Easily boring
About the Chinese zodiac
If you’ve eaten at an Americanized Chinese restaurant, you may have seen the paper placemats with 12 animal signs corresponding to years of birth. Everyone wants to be a Dragon or a Tiger; usually few at the table want to be one of the less popular animals, such as the rat, the snake, or the pig. But each animal sign possesses good and bad characteristics and personality traits. Those traits are further affected by the elemental sign that applies to each year of birth.
Although each animal sign appears every 12 years, the entire zodiac operates on a 60-year cycle. Each year of birth coincides with an animal and one of the five elements: water, wood, fire, earth or metal. They are then determined to be yin or yang.
The Chinese zodiac is extremely popular, perhaps even more so than our familiar zodiac. Although few Western companies would consult a zodiac to determine auspicious dates for big deals and mergers, some modern Asian companies do! Even weddings and pregnancies are often timed haphazardly as a nod to tradition and a nod to superstition for good measure.
The Chinese zodiac is observed throughout Asia, however some countries have made slight modifications. For example, the Vietnamese Tet coincides with the Chinese New Year, however, the Vietnamese zodiac has a cat instead of the rabbit sign. The Japanese New Year was changed to January 1 to coincide with the Gregorian calendar. Songkran, the Thai New Year, begins in mid-April.
Note: Because the Chinese New Year is based on a lunisolar calendar rather than our Gregorian calendar, people born in January or February should see if their birthday was before or after the Chinese New Year that year to determine their zodiac animal.
Are you the year of the monkey?
To be a monkey, a person must have been born after the Chinese New Year (January or February, depending on the year) in one of these years:
- 1932 (water sign)
- 1944 (wooden sign)
- 1956 (fire sign)
- 1968 (earth sign)
- 1980 (metal sign)
- 1992 (water sign)
- 2004 (wooden sign)
- 2016 (fire sign)
Some famous people born during the Year of the Monkey include Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, Lord Byron, Harry Houdini, Johnny Cash, Tom Hanks, and Hugh Jackman.
For people born in the year of the monkey
If you were born after the Chinese New Year in one of the previous years, congratulations – you are a monkey! In Chinese mythology, 2016 is your year of birth ben zing nian – zodiac. Contrary to what many people think, your zodiac year is not really a year ripe for big changes in life. According to belief, you must tread carefully to avoid accidentally offending Tai Sui, the Chinese god of age, and subsequently receiving bad fortune.
By 2016, people with monkey signs should delay big efforts like marriage or starting a business. Consider adjusting feng shui in your home and office; the cardinal directions play an important role.
To recognize the year, some Chinese choose to wear something red all over their nian Ben ming to prevent potentially bad fortune. Options for red can include jewelry (especially bracelets), socks, underwear, scarves, or just a red ribbon tied to something. To get the maximum benefit from red accessories, they must be purchased by someone else and given to you.
Red is generally considered the most auspicious color for almost any occasion because the Chinese word for red (hóng) sounds similar to a word for prosperous (hēng). The nian , a dangerous beast in Chinese mythology, is also believed to be afraid of the color red.
People born in the year of the monkey may also choose to wear a piece of jade jewelry for better luck during their zodiac year.
