2016 - Monkey Year Ahead

For those interested in following horoscopes and signs, this year will be the Year of the Monkey, starting Feb 8 2016, the Chinese New Year.   Why does the date of the Chinese New Year change every year?  The Chinese use the Lunar calendar for their festivals. The Lunar calendar is based on the time the moon takes to go around the Earth. (The Western calendar is based on the time it takes for the Earth to go around the Sun.) The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years.  The first day of each Chinese year will always fall sometime between January 21 and February 21, inclusive, and takes place at sunset on the day of the second (sometimes rarely on the third) New Moon following the winter solstice (21 or 22 December). How long do the New Year celebrations last for? Chinese New Year celebrations last for two weeks and end with Teng Chieh, the lantern festival, on the full moon about 15 days later. The Chinese Calendar Each year in the Chinese calendar is represented by one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, the Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Some people believe that people born in a particular year such as the year of the Rat will have some of the characteristics of that animal. It is said that "The animal hides in your heart." At the other end of the spectrum, the 2016 trends in the news seem to veer into the silly. CTV News says a culinary trendologist told The Canadian Press that her ingredient to watch in 2016 is toast. Today we have an abstract of Canna leaves, and a sunflower interpretation.