The Year Of The Dog Begins Today

The Chinese New Year started Feb. 16, and it’s now the Year of the Dog.

According to the Chinese New Year 2018 website, Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, follows the Lunar calendar, and there are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac: the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog and the pig. Each lunar year commemorates a zodiac animal in that order, and the last Year of the Dog was in 2006.

“According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party,” the Chinese New Year 2018 website said. “Monkey, Rooster and Dog were in another country, helping a god defeat evil spirits. After, they set off to the party together. Because they arrived at the same time, the Jade Emperor went by the order they met the god in the other country. Thus, Dog became eleventh.”

Those born during this Year of the Dog are likely to be “stubborn” but “respect other perspectives.”

The year of your zodiac animal — or your benming year — actually means bad luck for you.

“There are multiple explanations for this,” the Chinese New Year 2018 website said. “The Chinese believe that children can easily be taken by demons. And your benming year is your rebirth year.”

During your benming year, you are to wear red to defend yourself.

People often celebrate the new year by eating dumplings, spending time with family and decorating their homes. The celebrations end with the Lantern Festival, which marks the first full moon of the lunar year and during which people take to the streets to light lanterns and celebrate.

Celebrities born during past Years of the Dog include Queen Latifah, Kelly Clarkson and Ellen DeGeneres.