Is this the  Year of the Rabbit or the Year of the Cat?

This has been a topic of discussion at work this week. I am sure that many of you have seen that this is the Year of the Rabbit.

However, it is not the Year of the Rabbit in all cultures who use a lunar calendar.

For Vietnam it is the Year of the Cat. I have several friends who are from Vietnam and we have had some good discussions about this.

There are several theories about why it is the Year of the Cat in Vietnam. The more likely is that the cat is an important animal in Vietnam as it helps protect crops. Another theory is that the Chinese word for rabbits sounds similar to meow, the sound that cats make.

I believe the first theory is more plausible as there is another difference between the two list of names for the years. The Water Buffalo is used instead of the Ox. Again in the aquaculture of Vietnam the Water Buffalo is more important that the Ox.

Whether it is the Year of the Rabbit or the Year of the Cat, it is a new lunar year and people all over the world celebrated the new year.

I hope you enjoyed some of the pictures of rabbits and cats I have taken over the years. The cats are from California, Israel and Argentina and the rabbits are from California and Nebraska.

Steven