{"id":1672,"date":"2026-05-21T13:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keikungfu.nl\/everything-you-want-to-know-about-the-year-of-the-rat\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T13:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:20:11","slug":"everything-you-want-to-know-about-the-year-of-the-rat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keikungfu.nl\/en\/everything-you-want-to-know-about-the-year-of-the-rat\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything you want to know about the Year of the Rat!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you familiar with the Chinese New Year? The Chinese New Year does not start on January 1st, like the new year in the Western world. In this blog, we explain why that is and why each year is associated with an animal. We also tell you more about this year’s animal: the Rat.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Chinese Calendar<\/h2>\n

The Chinese calendar works a bit differently than the Western calendar. The Western calendar consists of 12 months, each with 30 or 31 days, with February as an exception. The Chinese calendar follows the cycle of the moon. As a result, the year starts and ends on a different day each year.<\/p>\n

Each year is represented by an animal from the Chinese zodiac, a constellation. There are 12 different animals, so every 12 years an animal corresponds to a year. 2020 is the year of the Rat.<\/p>\n

\"Chinese<\/h2>\n

Chinese New Year and the Chinese Zodiac<\/h2>\n

In China, celebrating the new year is also a big festival. There is a festive atmosphere and various celebrations to usher in the year. This year we celebrate the year of the Rat, which began on January 25th.<\/p>\n

The rat is the first animal in the Chinese zodiac. According to legend, the order of the Chinese zodiac comes from the Jade Emperor, the supreme god of Taoism. He decided that the order of arrival of the different animals at his feast would determine the order in the zodiac. The Rat convinced the Ox to give him a ride. When they arrived together at the finish line, the Rat jumped off the Ox and landed ahead of him over the finish line. The Rat won first place and the Ox came second in the zodiac.<\/p>\n

These 12 animals appear in the Chinese zodiac:<\/p>\n