• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Why Do the Chinese Name Each Year After An Animal and Where Did the Legend Come From?

Why Do the Chinese Name Each Year After An Animal and Where Did the Legend Come From?

May 23, 2020 by Karen Hill

The Chinese have tied animal names to calendar years for centuries.

According to the myth, Buddha invited all the animals on Earth to visit him on New Year’s Day, but only twelve arrived.

They were the rat, the ox, the tiger, the hare, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep, the monkey, the rooster, the dog, and the pig.

As a reward, Buddha honored each of these twelve with a year of its own.

Related Facts

  • History of Dogs
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World
  • Who Were the First Explorers of Ancient Civilization?
  • Were You Born in the Year of the Dog?
  • Why Do Sheep Always Run In a Straight Line In Front of a Car and Not To the Side and Why Are Sheep So Dumb?
  • How Many Dog Years is One Human Year and How Accurate is the Urban Legend?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How Much Does Santa Work and How Much Time Does Santa Spend At Each Child’s Home?
Next Post: How Did Kwanza Get its Name, What Does the Word Mean in Swahili, and How Did the Celebration Originate? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy