Chinese horoscope for December 2009

December is the festive season with celebrations for Christmas in many places around the globe. All those Christmas lights can brighten up the streets and lift your spirits as we enter into the darkest month of the year in the northern hemisphere. The shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, falls on 21st December in Europe, but in China and other parts of Asia, the actual point of the solstice occurs in the early hours of the 22nd. In the Chinese calendar, the winter solstice is known as ‘Dong Zhi’ and it is a celebration with the family gathering together for a big meal.

The solar month of the Rat begins on 7th December, whereas the lunar month of the Rat, which begins with the new moon 16th. The full moon is on the 30th December, so if you are going out to celebrate the New Year on 31st December there should still be lots of glorious moonlight. There is also a full moon on the 1st December, which means that the second full moon of the month can be described as a blue moon. Is this the time for something to happen once in a blue moon?

Rat month runs until 5th January when it hands over to the Ox for the last month of the Chinese year. The energy in Rat month is pure water, cold and chilly in mid-winter. However, in 2009, December is a Fire Rat month, which means that there is fire energy to brighten and warm things up. So will your luck blow hot and cold this month? New Years day, 1st January will still be in Rat month, wonder how the lingering influence of the shrewdest sign of the Chinese zodiac will get you off to a new start for 2010? Check your animal sign and see what the Rat brings in the season of goodwill:

Rat 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984
Ox 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985
Tiger 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986
Rabbit 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987
Dragon 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988
Snake 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989
Horse 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990
Goat 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991
Monkey 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992
Rooster 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993
Dog 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994
Pig 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995