During a conversation recently with a student we talked a little bit about the different animals that make up the Chinese (and Japanese) calendar. Every year has a different animal, and pointed out that in China it is the year of the pig, while in Japan the same year is the year of the boar. I did a little research after the conversation, and it turns out that every sixty years is a “golden year” that is particularly blessed, and the golden year of the pig is one of the most auspicious of all birthyears in China. I read an article about Chinese births suddenly increasing during 2007 (the last year of the pig) as Chinese families planned the birth of their child to land during this year.
Also interesting was that a rumor had started that 2007 was a golden year of the pig – and that had even more people excited and trying to have kids within that year. According to the article the information was incorrect – the last golden year of the pig was in 1971 – the year I was born. Sixty years before and sixty years after, and my folks ended up hitting it just right.
