Chinese New Year 10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each of the ten heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Chinese astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The elements are rotated every two years while a yin and yang association alternates every year. The elements are thus distinguished: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. These produce a combined cycle that repeats every 60 years. For example, the year of the Yang Fire Rat occurred in 1936 and in 1996, 60 years apart. Many people inaccurately calculate their Chinese birth-year by converting it from their Gregorian
Chinese New Year is the only national religious holiday in Indonesia that was enacted specifically with the Presidential Decree, in this case with the "Keputusan Presiden Republik Indonesia (Keppres RI) No 19 Tahun 2002" dated on 9 April 2002. The celebration of the Chinese New Year as a religious holiday is specifically intended only for Chinese People in Indonesia ("tradisi masyarakat Cina yang dirayakan secara turun temurun di berbagai wilayah di Indonesia," "dan umat Agama Tionghoa") and it is not intended to be celebrated by Indonesian Indigenous Peoples or "Masyarakat Pribumi Indonesia". Big Chinese population cities and towns like Jakarta, Medan, Singkawang, Pangkal