Chinese New Year is on Thursday February 19, 2015 and all month I have been adding family events to the A Child Grows calendar such as The Year of the Sheep at the China Institute and other upcoming events that mention the Year of the Sheep. Then I came across this Better Chinatown USA website and was confused by the Year of the Goat image.
I found this South China Morning Post article that explains why we see Year of the Sheep and also the Year of the Goat. There are twelve animals used to mark the Chinese New Year and the correct translation of the animal zodiac this year causes confusion among English speakers. The Chinese word yang looks like an animal with two horns and a pointy face so it can be mean a goat, sheep or ram in English. Per the article a horse, cow, goat, pig, dog and chicken were the main foods eaten by Chinese in the past and that is why the goat is included in the zodiac.
My children are off from school since it is mid-winter break for NYC public schools and due to germs and super cold weather we have been inside a lot and found this China Highlights website. Per the The Chinese Zodiac page the members of our family were born horse, rooster, rooster and rat Chines Zodiac years. You can type in your date of birth and find out your Chinese New Year Zodiac! The children loved learning about their favorite numbers and colors.
If your children love sheep check out the Lunar New Year event at Prospect Park Zoo this weekend since there will be sheep!
The good news is we will not be confused again until 2027!