Today is Chúxī, known to us more commonly as Chinese New Year’s Eve, and tomorrow sees the start of the year 4706 in the Chinese calendar, so there will be much celebrating, no doubt, within the ever-growing local Chinese community.
The Chinese calendar is reckoned on lunar months with each month starting on the darkest day. Traditionally, New Year celebrations start on the first day of the new year and continue for fifteen days, ending with the Lantern Festival.
And 4706, for those who want to know, is the Year of the Rat. In legend, Buddha invited all the animals to meet him at New Year. Twelve turned up, so he decided to name a year after each of them and people born in whichever year it happens to be are supposed to inherit some of that animal’s personality.