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by Sementawy Horemheb
 The
Chinese Lunar New Year is the longest chronological record in history,
dating from 2600BC, when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle
of the zodiac. Like the Western calendar, The Chinese Lunar Calendar is a
yearly one, with the start of the lunar year being based on the cycles of
the moon. Therefore, because of this cyclical dating, the beginning of the
year can fall anywhere between late January and late February. This year
it is the Year of the Pig. In Chinese mythology, the pig is a symbol
of honesty, tolerance, initiative and diligence. A complete cycle takes 60
years and is made up of five cycles of 12 years each.
The Chinese Lunar Calendar names each of the twelve years after an animal.
Legend has it that the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him
before he departed from earth. Only twelve came to bid him farewell and as
a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The
Chinese believe the animal ruling the year in which a person is born has a
profound influence on personality, saying: "This is the animal that
hides in your heart," but is also looked upon as a philosophy which
helps explain the spiritual essence of life.
The Signs of the Chinese Zodiac:
Rat
1924 1936
1948 1960 1972 1984 1996
Ox 1925
1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997
Tiger 1926 1938 1950 1962
1974 1986 1998
Rabbit 1927 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999
Dragon 1928 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000
Snake 1929 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989
2001
Horse 1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990
2002
Sheep 1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991
2003
Monkey 1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004
Rooster 1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005
Dog 1934 1946 1958 1970
1982 1994 2006
Pig 1935 1947
1959 1971 1983 1995 2007
The Year of the Pig
The sign of the Pig
Pig is a fun and enlightening
personality blessed with patience and understanding. People born under the
sign of the Pig enjoy life and all it has to offer, including family and
friends. They are honest and thoughtful and expect the same of other
people.
In the Chinese tradition, the pig represents abundance and people born in
the Year of the Pig share certain characteristics. The following are
features associated with the Sign of the Pig...
Twelfth in order, Chinese name—ZHU or HAI, the sign of honesty.
Western Counterpart—Scorpio with to a lesser degree, Aries and Pisces.
CHARACTERISTICS: Hardworking, Giving, Willing, Helpful, Honest, Loyal,
Outspoken, Hedonistic, Materialistic, Obstinate, And Vengeful.
Contrary to its rather negative reputation in the West, the Pig of Chinese
Astrology may be the most generous and honourable Sign of the Zodiac. Pigs
are nice to a fault and possess impeccable manners and taste. They have so
much of the perfectionist in them that others may be inclined to perceive
them as snobs, but this is a misconception. Pigs are simply possessed of a
truly luxurious nature, one that delights in finery and riches (in
surroundings, food, lovemaking and otherwise). This Sign believes in the
best qualities of mankind but do at times consider themselves to be
superior. Pigs care a great deal about friends and family and work hard to
keep everyone in their life happy. Helping others is a true pleasure for
the Pig, who feels best when everyone else is smiling.
Outspoken and confident, Pigs give 110% for everything they do. They throw
themselves into relationships with others completely, sometimes to a
fault. These Pigs are headstrong and diligent in the workplace, honest and
caring in a relationship but believe trust is to be earned, not taken for
granted.
Pigs are strong-minded individuals who give of themselves continuously.
Active, outgoing and extroverted, Pigs breathe new life into everything
they do. These Pigs are vivid, motivated individuals who cannot be
deterred from a goal once they have set it. They are emotional and
passionate about their loved ones, their occupations and their objectives.
They are bold and vivacious, unafraid to take risks despite the
consequences. But don’t double-cross a Pig. They have the ability
to be quite abrasive when things don’t turn out as they planned.
When travelling they tend to dine at the finest restaurants, eat the
richest chocolates and drink the most expensive champagne. In addition,
their natures to be relaxed and laid back would lead them to an easygoing
vacation somewhere on an island or in a resort where they can hang out and
be completely taken care of. Pigs do not like 'roughing it.' Pigs
like first class seats, compartments and treatment.
Those born under the Chinese sign of the Pig find, Rats to be friendly and
Oxen affectionate. The have opposing views to Tigers and find the
company of Rabbits enjoyable, if a little irritating. In the opinion
of Pigs, Dragons are lots of fun, Snakes laid back and Horses distant but
alluring. They find Sheep think like themselves, Monkey's are loads
of laughs but frivolous, Roosters are caring but forgetful and Dogs warm.
Most of all, Pigs enjoy the company of fellow Pigs and revel in the
company of like minded individuals much like their counterparts of the
Scorpio (and to a lesser degree the Pisces and Aries) in the Western
Zodiac.
The pig is an important symbol in Feng Shui, the Chinese art of
positioning objects, especially furniture, based on a belief in patterns
of yin and yang and the flow of energy that have positive and negative
effects. According to traditional Feng Shui, statues of golden pigs will
bring great prosperity and happiness to a household. Place the pair of
golden pigs in the Southeast for prosperity or the East for family
relationships.
Chinese
Zodiac Predictions for the Year of the Pig
(click the link)
Prominent Pig People:
Chiang Kai-Shek, Lee Kuan Yew, Kim
Dae Jung, Syngman Rhee, Inaras Junius, Tennessee Williams, Julie Andrews,
Sementawy Horemheb, Albert Schweitzer, Jerry John Rawlings, Prince
Rainier, Georges Pompidou, Chuck Yeager, Odin Knudsson, Henry Kissinger,
King Fahd, Maria Callas, Henry Ford, Humphrey Bogart, Ronald Reagan, Elton
John, Jerry Lee Lewis.
The Pig in Myth and legend...
Usually, in Buddhist iconography, the pig represents desire in all its
forms. This ranges from identification with one's body, through a
general love of material possessions, as well as the lust for food or
sexual satisfaction. Therefore, the pig is 1 of 3 animals depicted
at hub of the Buddhist Wheel of Rebirth. That is, they symbolize the
impediments to our release from the round of rebirth, and they are: desire/attachment
(the pig), anger/aversion (the snake), and ignorance/confusion (the
rooster).
A boar-faced goddess protects Nepalese temples and buildings. The Varahi
are sow deities who preside over Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, guarding the
gates of the city of the capital. Tibetan Buddhist deity Vajra Yogini is
known in the form of Vajravarahi the Adamantine Sow. In that special form,
a small sow's head embellishes the right side of her human head.
The squeal of the pig is also the 'cry of compassion' that complements and
reflects the Buddha's voice of wisdom. The Hindu Goddess Durga in
wild boar form is called 'Vajrabarahi.' A small temple dedicated to her is
in the Chapagaon Forest of Nepal. It was constructed by Sri Bas
Malla, and empowered by the Hindu guru, Viswanath, in 786 CE. In the
great earthquake of 1990, the temple was unharmed, although all
surrounding buildings were destroyed. Another Barahi Temple can be
located on an island in the centre of P'hewa Lake in Pokhara, Nepal.
It is dedicated to the boar protectress form of Shakti in the
manifestation called Ajima.
In Indian mythology, the activity of all the gods manifests as the goddess
Durga who was many times victorious over demonic forces. Her yearly
festival in the autumn is the Naava Ratri 'the Nine Nights.' It
celebrates her 9 battles in the war against the forces opposing the gods.
To her millions of devotees, she is the most compassionate, most
pleasing supreme manifestation of god. Charming, blissful, skilful
and compassionate, she is the peerless mother who prevents the defeat of
the lord of gods, Devendra (Shiva) and protects the heavenly realm
(Swarga). On the eight day of the decisive battle against the ashuras
sometimes called 'anti-gods' or 'titans' in English, she assumes the form
of each of the consorts of Lord Vishnu's avatars. One of them is
Varaha the Boar, and so she becomes Varahi, piercing her opponent with her
sharp tusks.
In India and according to the Bhagavad Gita (3.30.5) for lack of respect
to guru Brihaspati the Sage, Indra, king of the Hindu gods, was once
transformed into a pig. Vishnu's third avatar, or manifested form,
is The Boar. He is depicted either as the animal or as a boar-headed
man with four arms. In that form, he holds a wheel, a conch- shell,
a sword, and a mace or a lotus. Alternately, two of his hands may be
in the protection or boon-bestowing gestures. Hiranyaksha, (golden-eyed
demon) received a boon from the god Brahma after having practiced severe
austerities in his devotion to him. He asked to become king of the
whole world, and that no animal which he mentioned by name should ever
have the power to harm him. But he had to enumerate the animals, and
he forgot to mention the boar. In these myths, the demon wreaked
havoc, plundering everything of value from the creatures of the world,
including the Hindu scriptures. Hiranyaksha even took the earth down
into the ocean as a hostage, but it complained bitterly and loudly. Vishnu
assumed the boar form and plunged into the depths of the primeval ocean to
rescue Earth. It took him one thousand years to kill Hiranyaksha and
to lift the earth up with his great white tusks. He calmed it, and
made it ready for human use by moulding its mountains and continents. A
flying boar was associated with Clazomenae, a city of Asia Minor, home to
philosopher Anaxagoras (499-428 BCE). He taught, with some
similarity to the Buddha, "nothing comes into being nor perishes but
that it is compounded or dissolved from things that are."
In ancient Egypt the goddess Nuut, goddess of the night, Mother of Stars,
was sometimes depicted on amulets as a sow suckling her piglets. The
white pig was sacred to Isis; the black boar was associated with her
brother and opponent, Set. This black boar aspect was considered
responsible for the obscuration of the sun during an eclipse. In one
version, Set gores Isis's son Horus, the sun god, putting out one of his
eyes.
In classical mythology, a sow suckled the chief of the Greek gods Zeus,
though in some versions it is a goat. Swine were sacred to Demeter,
goddess of the earth's fertility, who was the mother of Persephone, queen
of the underworld. In autumn, during the rites of Thesmophoria, her
devotees drove a herd of swine into a labyrinthine cave. Later, they
would return to see if the deity had accepted this offering by examining
the condition of any pig carcasses that might remain. Her cult was later
absorbed and subsumed by that of the Roman goddess of grain, Ceres, to
whom the pig offering continued to be performed. Swine were
sacrificed also, to Hercules, to Venus and also to the Lares by those
seeking relief from their illnesses. In the epic about the Greek
hero Odysseus' 10 years of adventure returning from the Trojan War,
somewhere on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, the sorceress Circe
turned Odysseus's crew into swine for the seven years during which she
held him captive.
Roman historian Tacitus (1st century CE) in 'Germania' [ch. 45] says of
the Germans that... "They worship the Mother of the Gods, and wear,
as an emblem of this cult, the device of a wild boar, which stands them in
stead of armour or human protection, and gives the worshiper a sense of
security even among his enemies. They seldom use weapons of iron, but
clubs very often." The Slavic figure called Baba Yaga (or
Iaga,) is usually described as riding an airborne mortar, which she steers
with her pestle. However, some Russian folktales describe her riding
a sow.
The Celtic Mother goddess Ceridwin, who was associated with the moon, was
referred to as the Old White Sow. The Celts were also among those
who considered the flesh of swine the most suitable meal for the gods even
after the Old Mythology was diminished into tales of the Otherworld.
It was also said that Manannan, god of the sea, had magic pigs which
though eaten one day, returned the next to be eaten again.
In the Near East we find Artemis’ in the form of the 'Great Goddess' and
is associated with the boar. It is likely that the bulbous
appendages on the tiered body statue representations of the triple-crowned
goddess of the Ephesians are not breasts but rather boar's testicles.
Adonis, a later Greek god whose origins lie in the Middle East,
perished by the tusks of a wild boar. His name, which derives from
'adohn' or 'lord,' likely refers to Tammuz, consort of the Great Goddess,
Ishtar.
In Rome, a boar was the feast offering to the god Saturn usually blessed
with the saying "That boar will make you a good Saturnalia."
In Norse mythology the boar's-head standard is among the gifts
bestowed by the Danish king upon the hero Beowulf for his having slain the
ogre, Grendel. In Saxo's History of the Danes the order of the
battle of Bravalla is described, and Woden or Odin's device of a boar's
head named the 'hamalt fylking.'
The Valkyries served the warriors of Valhalla meat from the boar named
Saehrimnir. The divine chef, Andhrimnir, prepared a stew of it in
the cauldron called Eldhrimnir. The beast magically came back to
life again before the next meal.
At Yule, the northern European winter solstice festival, the head of a
roast swine with an apple in its jaws, is the highlight of the meal.
In the British Isles Arthurian legends include "The Hunting of
Twrch Trwyth," a magical boar with comb, scissors and razor between
its ears. The animal was female and, like Marichi, was considered to
travel with her 7 farrow. The Beast of Cornwall, as described in medieval
British legend, is a boar. (Although a contemporary mysterious
"Beast of Bodmin Moor" is described as a panther.)
What is a Pig..?
Swine is the generic term for these
very intelligent cloven-hoofed, snouted animals. Pig refers to
domestic swine of which the female is a sow and the male a boar. But
boar is also the English word for the wild, tusked and hairier swine.
Therefore it is possible to say that the boar was a sow! The
young are called piglets, shoats or farrow. Gilts are pubescent
females. Sounders are the males that rove in groups. Hog is
the synonym for pig.
How Chinese New Year is
celebrated...
The Chinese New Year Festival is the most significant holiday for Chinese
people around the world, regardless of the origin of their ancestors.
History of Chinese New Year also goes back centuries. Chinese New Year is
also known as the Lunar New Year Festival because it is based on the lunar
calendar as opposed to the Gregorian calendar.
The history of the Chinese New Year Festival can be traced back thousands
of years through a continually evolving series of colourful legends and
traditions. One of the most famous legends is that of Nien, an extremely
cruel and ferocious beast, which the Chinese believe, eats people on New
Year's Eve. To keep Nien away, red-paper couplets are pasted on doors,
torches are lit, and firecrackers are set off throughout the night,
because Nien is said to fear the colour red, the light of fire, and loud
noises. Early the next morning, as feelings of triumph and renewal fill
the air at successfully keeping Nien away for another year, the most
popular greeting heard is kung-hsi, or "congratulations."
Even though Chinese New Year celebrations generally only last for several
days, starting on New Year's Eve, the festival itself is actually about
three weeks long. It begins on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar
month, the day, it is believed, when various gods ascend to heaven to pay
their respects and report on household affairs to the Jade Emperor, the
supreme Taoist deity. According to tradition, households busily honour
these gods by burning ritualistic paper money to provide for their
travelling expenses. Another ritual is to smear malt sugar on the lips of
the Kitchen God, one of the travelling deities, to ensure that he either
submits a favourable report to the Jade Emperor or keeps silent.
Next, "spring couplets" are hung up around the house. Spring
couplets are paper scrolls and squares inscribed with blessings and
auspicious words, such as "good fortune," "wealth,"
"longevity," and "springtime." The paper squares are
usually pasted upside down, because the Mandarin Chinese word for
"upside down," Tao, is a homonym of the word
"arrival." Thus, the paper squares represent the
"arrival" of spring and the "coming" of prosperous
times.
On Chinese New Year's Eve, family members who are no longer living at home
make a special effort to return home for reunion and share in a sumptuous
meal. At that time, family members hand out "lucky money" in red
envelopes to elders and children and stay up all night to welcome the New
Year. Chinese people have long believed that staying awake all night on
New Year's Eve would help their parents to live a longer life. Thus,
lights are kept on the entire night--not just to drive away Nien, as in
ancient times, but also as an excuse to make the most of the family
get-together. Some families even hold religious ceremonies after midnight
to welcome the God of the New Year into their homes, a ritual that is
often concluded with a huge barrage of firecrackers.
The Pig in Literature...
RABBLE, n.: In a republic, those who exercise a supreme authority tempered
by fraudulent elections. The rabble is like the sacred Simurgh, of Arabian
fable -- omnipotent on condition that it do nothing. (The word is
Aristocratese, and has no exact equivalent in our tongue, but means, as
nearly as may be, "soaring swine.").
THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY (1906) Ambrose Bierce (1842 – 1914) U.S. writer
and journalist.
Pigs flie in the ayre with their tails forward...
A SHORTE DICTIONARIE FOR YOUNGE BEGYNNERS, (1553). John Withals
Pigs might fly, but they are very unlikely birds.
Popular euphemism, 1620's.
"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many
things: Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings, and why
the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings." THROUGH THE
LOOKING GLASS, (1872).
Lewis Carroll (1832 – 1898), English writer, mathematician.
The first pig to fly in an aeroplane was taken up for a joyride in a
biplane by Lord Brabazon, holder of the first pilot license in Britain.
"The TIMES", London, (1909).
"Owl," said Pooh, "Could you fly up to the letter-box with
Piglet on your back?" "No," said Piglet quickly, "He
couldn't." Owl explained to Pooh about the necessary Dorsal Muscles.
Piglet hurriedly added that he had been getting much bigger lately,
"so it's no good thinking about it."
THE HOUSE AT POOH CORNER, (1928). A.A. Milne (1882 – 1956), English
author.
I have myself a poetical enthusiasm for pigs, and the paradise of my fancy
is one where pigs have wings. But it is only men, especially wise men, who
discuss whether pigs can fly; we have no particular proof that pigs ever
discuss it.
FANCIES VERSUS FACTS, (1923). G.K. Chesterton, (1874 – 1936), British
author and critic.
"Just about as much right," said the Duchess, "as pigs have
to fly."
ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND. Lewis Carroll (1832 – 1898), English
writer, mathematician.
"If you are sweating too much before a flight, you surely haven't
asked enough questions. If you are not sweating just a little during the
flight, you may not have been attentive enough. And, if you are not
sweating out the answers with all the experts you can think of after the
flight, you may never find that very beautiful pearl in all that pig
litter."
Corwin H. Meyer, Grumman Aircraft test pilot, WWII.
“Man looks down on the dog; the cat looks down on man;
The pig stares man in the eye and see his equal. “ Winston
Churchill.
Sources:
http://rochedalss.eq.edu.au/pigs.htm
http://adminstaff.vassar.edu/sttaylor/MacDatho/
http://www.britishpigsociety.co.uk/history.htm
Strange Histories: The Trial of the Pig, the Walking Dead, and Other
Matters of Fact from the Medieval and Renaissance Worlds by Darre
Oldridge; ISBN-10: 0415404924.
History of pig keeping.(The pig pen): An article from: Countryside &
Small Stock Journal by Kay Wolfe.July 1, 2006 Publisher: Thomson Gale,
Volume: 90 Issue.
The English Pig: A History by Robert Malcolmson, Stephanos Mastoris,
ISBN-13: 978-1852851743
Publisher: Hambledon & London (August 2, 2003).
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Featured February 10 , 2007
