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 Chinese love for wordplay in auspicious phrases. Similarly, 年年有餘 ("niánnián yǒu yú"), a wish for surpluses and bountiful harvests every year, plays on the word "yú" that can also refer to 魚 (yú meaning fish), making it a catch phrase for fish-based Chinese new year dishes and for paintings or graphics of fish that are hung on walls or presented as gifts. The most common auspicious greetings and sayings consist of four characters, such as the following: These greetings or phrases may also be used just before children receive their red packets, when gifts are exchanged, when visiting temples, or