Chinese New Year 2018 Animal: What Is the Animal This Year?

Getty People visit the Hsi Lai (Come West) Buddhist Temple in Hacienda Heights, California on February 15, on the eve of the Lunar New Year with the arrival of the Year of the Dog beginning on February 16th.

Friday, February 16, marks Chinese New Year. It also marks the start of the Year of the Dog.

Chinese New Year, otherwise known as Spring Festival, is one of the most celebrated festivals in the world, and typically lasts from the night before Chinese New Year through to the Lantern Festival on the 15th.

What Does the Year of the Dog Mean?

The Chinese zodiac is made up of twelve signs, but as opposed to being designated by the monthly positions of the sun, the Chinese zodiac uses the Chinese lunar calendar. The twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac are all animals and the signs are cycled through every twelve years. Few people may know that each year is also assigned one of the five “earthly substances”: gold, water, wood, fire, and earth. This year, specifically, is the Earth Dog year.

The Year of the Dog will begin on February 16, 2018, and end on February 4, 2019. According to DogTime, this marks the first Year of the Dog in twelve years.

GettyHanoi, Vietnam. A dog is dressed to celebrate Year of the Dog at the Old Quarter on February 16, 2018 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Chinese Lunar New Year also known as the Spring Festival, which is based on the Lunisolar Chinese calendar, is celebrated from the first day of the first month of the lunar year and ends with Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day.

DogTime reports that the Earth Dog year comes only once every 60 years; if you were born between February 18, 1958, and February 7, 1959, “this will be the first time you will have been alive during a year that shares your exact birth sign.”

People born in the year of the dog are said to exhibit traits of loyalty, friendliness, and kindliness, much like our canine partners themselves. Those born in the year of the dog are also said to be honest and easy-going.

Celebrities Born in the Year of the Dog

GettySinger Madonna performs during the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Which famous Earth Dogs precede us? Madonna and Michael Jackson are probably the two best-known Earth Dogs. Other celebrities born just in the Year of the Dog include Justin Bieber, Steven Spielberg, Winston Churchill, Elvis Presley, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Mother Teresa.

What Is Luck for Those Born in the Year of the Dog?

The next year of the dog will be 2030. What is considered lucky for those born in the Year of the Dog?

Lucky numbers are considered 3, 4, and 9. Lucky colors are red, green, and purple. And lucky flowers are rose and cymbidium orchids.

On the contrary, what should those born in the Year of the Dog stay away from? According to China Highlights, unlucky things for Dogs are the colors blue, white, and gold; the numbers 1, 6, and 7; the direction southeast; and unlucky months are the 5th and 8th Chinese lunar months.