Why Do Acupuncturists Celebrate Chinese New Year?

What Is Chinese New Year? Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival celebrates the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese calendar and marks the end of the cold season. Traditionally, the festival celebrates new plants and harvests, letting go of negative energy of the past, the spirit of renewal and the fresh starts of spring. Why Does Chinese New Year Fall On a Different Date Each Year? Unlike the New Year observed by those that use the Gregorian Calendar, which is based on a solar calendar, the Chinese New Year is based on a traditional Chinese luni-solar calendar where dates indicate both the phase of the moon as well as the time of the solar year. This makes a lunar month slightly shorter than a typical month. As such, an extra month is inserted every few years, and explains why Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year. In 2019, the Chinese New Year falls on February 5. How Is Chinese New Year Celebrated? This year, the entire Chinese New Year celebration lasts from January 28 to February 19, with each day representing a different phase of the festival. On Chinese New Year’s Eve, for instance, more fireworks than anywhere in the world are set off to welcome the New Year, ward off monsters or evil spirits, and emphasize good luck in the coming year. Most of the greetings or blessings of the Chinese New Year involve plentiful harvests, wealth and fortune, health & longevity, or having children or large families. 2019: The Year of the Pig You probably know there are 12 Chinese Zodiac animals used to represent years. Based on a repeating cycle of 12 years, each year is represented by an animal and its reputed attributes, with that animal’s traits being bestowed on people born in that year. In order, the 12 Chinese horoscope animals are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Dating back to the Qin dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, the Zodiac signs play an important role in Chinese culture and can be used to determine your personality, fortune for the year, partner compatibility, career fit, best times to conceive and more.

For fun, you can find your Chinese Zodiac animal here.

2019 is the Year of the Pig, occupying the last (12^th) position in the Chinese Zodiac. You are a “Pig” if you are born in one of the following years:

1923    1935   1947   1959    1971    1983   1995    2007    2019

Learn more about Pig characteristics and projections

Based on Chinese astrology, 2019 will be a good year of prosperity and a great time to invest. It will be a year full of joy, friendship and love for all the zodiac signs because the Pig attracts success in all the spheres of life. Here are some other things you may not have known about the Chinese New Year. Suzanne White’s work takes the traditional Chinese Zodiac a step further by linking each animal to one’s astrological sign in what she deems “New Astrology,” complete with horoscopes. The Chinese New Year + Acupuncture Connection The connection between the Chinese system and modern acupuncture can get confusing. As old as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is, the basis for treating common ailments is based in ancient cosmology, astrology, and mythology, including the system of the Chinese Zodiac. Traditional acupuncture points, meridians and means of stimulation mirror the celestial sphere. For instance, it is no coincidence there are 12 acupuncture meridians and 12 symbols of the Chinese Zodiac, with channels representing an early, elementary model of the body’s vascular system. In this worldview, each part of the body relates to one of the 12 Chinese zodiac symbols, named according to their degree of yin or yang. The system can be further broken down by the elements of Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal, which correspond to the Chinese terms for Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Venus.

While the root of TCM lies in these ancient roadmaps of the body, modern acupuncture couples traditional theories with science-backed knowledge and much greater precision & technique to open blocked channels of energy, boost blood flow, and spark healing in the body.

Today, knowing your Chinese horoscope can be trivial and fun, offering just a tiny window into your psyche and offering your acupuncturist a bit of insight into your treatment. But that’s just the beginning, and acupuncturists today quickly move from the theoretical origins to using a medically-based approach, yielding relief for everything from anxiety to fertility to pain relief, and much more.

You don’t have to be Chinese to appreciate the new beginnings and the gifts of the Chinese New Year. May the Pig be a sign of good fortune, great health and prosperity for you in the coming year.

Happy Year of the Pig.