Shio is the chinese zodiac animal signs that represent the 12-year cycle to indicate the year. They represent the concept of cycle time, unlike the western concept of time represented by the stars. Chinese Lunar Calendar is based on cycles of the moon, and is built in a format different from the Western calendar is based on the sun. In the Chinese calendar, the beginning of the year begins between late January and early February. China adopted the Western calendar since 1911, although the lunar calendar (based on the month) is still used for events such as the festival of Chinese New Year or known by the Chinese. Many Chinese calendars including circulating in Indonesia scored two good versions of the calendars are based on the Chinese calendar based on the sun and the moon.
In America, every year is marked by the birth of Jesus Christ, for example, 1998 means 1,998 years after the birth of Christ. This represents a linear perception of time, where time proceeds in a straight line from the past present and future. In traditional Chinese custom, dating method is based on a cycle, the cycle mean something to happen based on the cycle time. Popular folk method where we can see this cycle is a method of recording years into Twelve Animal Signs. Every year on the mark with the name of the beast or the "zodiac" in accordance with the spin cycle: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Therefore, every twelve years the same animal or zodiac will appear.
Zodiac animals also indicates a useful social function for finding out the age of a person. Instead of asking how old someone, often people just ask what the person's zodiac. This will put the person in a cycle of 12 years, and with a little common sense, we can calculate the age of the person.
legend
According to traditional Chinese legend, the twelve animals gathered in a day to determine who becomes the leader in pertahunan cycle. Creator made the contest: whoever can cross the river will be the first turn, and the rest will follow in accordance with the order of their arrival.
At the beginning of the twelve animals gathered in it, including the cat. Cats tell the news to his friend the Rat, and they agreed to go together the next day. However, as the day when the contest started Rats do not wake Cats, who as a cat happy to sleep all day. Then the cat did not follow the race and was not included in the annual cycle of the zodiac.
At the time of the competencies, resourceful rats riding on the buffalo were strong and brave to cross the river. When the buffalo had to leap to the other bank of the river, without the knowledge of Buffalo, the rat jumped from the back of the buffalo, and made him the winner of the contest. The last animal is an animal that is lazy lazy pig, therefore rat is the first year of the zodiac cycle, and topped off by a pig without a cat in the zodiac cycle of twelve years. And therefore also, according to legend, the animosity between cats with mice began and still continues today.
