Happy Year of the Dragon

(Image from X/Year of the Dragon)

Today is the first day of the Lunar Year. Each year is assigned to one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac; yesterday the Year of the Rabbit ended and today the Year of the Dragon begins.

In Chinese culture there's a belief that an individual takes on the characteristics of the animal of his or her birth year. Dragon babies--like your humble blogger--have an auspicious future.[bold added]

Arriving fifth in the sequence, the dragon is the most potent—and most desired—zodiac symbol. It “catalyzes all the powers of nine animals and is therefore considered very supreme,” says Richard E. Strassberg, an expert on Chinese culture and the author of A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures From the Guideways Through Mountains and Seas. “There [is] an overwhelming mixture of respect and hope in invoking the dragon’s powers.”

When the Year of the Dragon arrives, birth rates in China tend to boom. Many parents believe that a child born during this year, a lucky dragon baby, will be destined for success. Though this perception is often a self-fulfilling prophecy, with parents investing greater resources in their dragon child, the extraordinary expectations surrounding the zodiac creature speak to its deep associations with intelligence, authority and good fortune.

Sharing our good fortune this year

Like everyone else, your humble blogger has had a life of ups and downs, but in all the important ways a life filled with good fortune.

Maybe there was something to this zodiac thing.

Happy Year of the Dragon!