By Abs A. Abando
MANILA, Jan. 23 (PNA) — The Chinese calendar year is about to begin on January 28. The year 2017, according to Chinese astrologers, belongs to the Fire Rooster — fire being one of five elements identified by the Chinese element theory. Each element — wood, water, fire, earth and gold or metal — comes only once every 60 years.
A person born in the year of the Fire Rooster is characterised by trustworthiness, a strong sense of responsibility, punctuality and a keen sense of time keeping, according to the website, China Highlights.com. Roosters, said the website, are known to make their career a priority in their lives. They are highly motivated, multi-talented and hardworking and are often into sales, public relations, journalism, teaching, the medical profession, military and law enforcement.
Contrary to popular belief, a person is actually unlucky during the year he celebrates his birth sign. For example, this year will not be so good for people born in the Year of the Rooster, including those under the sign of the Fire Rooster.
Hence, to ward off bad luck, Roosters in general will have to avoid the color red; the numbers 1, 3 and 9; the east direction; and the 3rd, 9th and 12th Chinese lunar months, said the website.
The year however is not entirely unfavourable to the Rooster — if he takes note of the “lucky” 2nd, 5th and 11th Chinese lunar months; the numbers 5, 7 and 8; the colors gold, brown and yellow; and the directions south and southeast.
Looking back in history, the last cycle of the Fire Rooster in 1957 could be remembered for the first flight of a black American pilot on a passenger airline on Feb. 1; the UN adoption of a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Egypt on Feb. 2; Britain’s agreement to a self-ruled Singapore on April 11; the first time music legends Paul McCartney and John Lennon met on July 6; and President Ramon Magsaysay’s death in a plane crash in Cebu on March 17.
Famous personalities born in the 1957 Year of the Fire Rooster include critically acclaimed filmmaker, Spike Lee (March 20); top European golfer, Nick Faldo (July 18); Latin lead singer, Gloria Estefan of the Miami Sound Machine (Sept. 1); British-Irish thespian, Daniel Day-Lewis (April 29); actress, Melanie Griffith (Aug. 9), who was once married to Spanish actor, Antonio Banderas; Afghanistan’s former president, Hamid Karzai (Dec. 24); and Osama Bin Laden (March 10).
