Chinese New Year 4705 or 2008 in the Western calendar is the Year of the Brown Earth Rat. This year of the rat begins a new 12 year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.

Like the houses of the zodiac, the animals of Chinese astrology are said to influence your luck during the year. Your horoscope for 2008, the year of the rat, depends on which animal signifies the year you were born.

Rats are water signs and it is said that they make a very good match for monkeys and dragons, but do not get along well with rabbits, horses and roosters. The brown earth influences of this year also make oxen a favored friend of the persevering rat but add conflict to the year as the elements of earth and water seek a balance - especially during the early part of the year.

Year 2008 is a Chinese Brown Earth (Soil) Rat Year. Why did the Chinese name the year 2008 as the Brown Earth Rat Year? Chinese calendar used the Stem-Branch system to count the days, months and years. There are 10 Stems and 12 Branches in this system. Stems are named by the Yin-Yang and Five Elements (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth). The Stem sequence order is Yin-Yang Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, Yang Earth, Yin Earth, Yang Metal, Yin Metal, Yang Water and Yin Water. Branches use the animal names.

The Chinese New Year day is on February 7th, 2008. This day is a new moon day, it is the first day of the first Chinese lunar month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar system. The exact new moon time is at 11:44 on 07-Feb-08 in China time zone.

If we apply Chinese lunar calendar system on the USA time zones, we find something interesting here. In the US Pacific Standard Time (PST), the new moon time is at 19:44 of 2-06-08. In the US Eastern Standard Time (EST), the new moon time is at 21:44 of 2-06-08. Therefore, the Chinese New Year day for USA time zones is on February 6th, 2008.

The new moon time is at 03:44 on 2-07-08 of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and at 04:44 on 2-07-08 of Time Zone GMT+1. That means Chinese New Year day is on February 7th, 2008 for European countries.

Traditional Chinese New Year Food is a symbol of prosperity, good luck, health and long life for everyone at the table. Each and every food, either by its appearance or the pronunciation of its name, symbolizes age old Chinese beliefs. Traditional Chinese New Year Food like dumplings, spring Rolls, chicken or may be a whole fish wishes good things for the coming year.

Chinese Dumplings (jiaozi) Recipe
For the dough

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/4 cup ice cold water (as needed)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

For the Filling

* 1 cup ground pork or beef
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

Only 4,100 of the 24,000 family names used throughout China's 5,000 years of history are still in use today.

The findings were the result of a two-year research project by Yuan Yida, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who supervised a survey of 300 million people across the country.

The reductions in China's name base were caused by several factors, Yuan found. Many minorities switched to Han surnames when they came under the influence of the country's dominant culture, he said.

This was especially true in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), when a large number of ethnic minorities melded into Han communities.

The other reason for the loss was that some names simply died out because they were not shared by many people, the researcher said.

Surnames are not evenly distributed throughout China's geography. In northern China, Wang is the most common surname, being shared by 9.9% of the population. Next are Li, Zhang and Liu). In the south, Chen is the most common, being shared by 10.6% of the population. Next are Li, Huang, Lin) and Zhang. Around the major crossing points of the Yangtze River, the most common surname is Li , taking up 7.7%, followed by Wang, Zhang , Chen and Liu.

The Eastern zodiac sign horoscope system is one of the oldest in the world of astrology. The origin of Chinese astrology dates back to the era of Shang Dynasty. It was the beginning of Sexagenary Cycle, which is of sixty years. As per the oriental zodiac system, the entire set up consists of two basic cycles. One includes 10 heavenly stems, which has been made from yin and yang energies. Another is 12 year cycle of animals, which we know as the Chinese zodiac. Thus, every year has a different zodiac and people born in a particular year falls under the same sign category. Chinese New Year 2008 belongs to Rats. Let's fix our attentions to their special traits as we usher to the Chinese New Year of Rats, 2008.

In traditional China, dating methods were based on lunar calendar. The Chinese Lunar Calendar is based on the cyclical dating that is governed by the track record of the new moon. An accepted folk method which reflected this cyclical method of recording years is the Twelve Animal Signs. Every year in the calendar is represented by an animal name or sign according to a repeating cycle: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. Hence, every twelve years the same animal name or sign would reappear.

Dragon dance is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance it is most often seen in festive celebrations. Chinese people often use the term "Descendants of the Dragon"