Not many people would have viewed the New Year 2005 as a big deal. Many people just saw it as another year where things will happen and then we would all move onto another year. However some cultures will see the New Year as a time for luck, especially if their time for their birth symbol on the Chinese New Year symbols calendar. It can be very simple to find out what animal your birth year is related to. It can also be a lot of fun as well. Once you have found out what animal your birth year is related to, then you can read about that particular animal and how it is viewed by the Chinese. All the animals have specific qualities for example, the ox is considered to be a leader and also sometimes stubborn. So for those people born on the year of the ox those are the qualities that the person might obtain. You can also see what other animals you are supposedly compatible with, and the animals that you should avoid.
 
The New Year 2005 started at many different times for different cultures. For many cultures it would have started on January the 1st, but for other people such as the Chinese the New Year 2005 started during February. For Islam when the New Year 2005 rolled around, they were actually in a different number year. When the New Year 2005 arrived the Islamic calendar was in the year 1425.
 
As stated before, the Chinese New Year is symbolised by animals. These Chinese New Year symbols are animals. The story goes back a long way. The story states that there was a meeting of all the animals and they raced across a lake. Apparently as the race started the ox was in the lead, but when they reached the lake the rat jumped onto the ox's head. Then when they reached the land the rat jumped off the ox's head and then won the race. The order that the animals won the race then represented the year. This race is just one of a few examples as to how the Chinese represent animals with years.
 
Other cultures such as the United States of America and the United Kingdom have humans as New Year symbols. When the year is coming to an end the symbol used is an old man or even a father. But when the New Year is starting, then the symbol used is a new baby. The old man or father is a metaphor for the death of an old year passed, and the baby is the metaphor for the birth of a New Year. But as stated these New Years symbols are only used in countries such as the United States of America and the United Kingdom, plus all the other countries that use the Gregorian calendar to determine the date of the New Year.
 
All the different cultures do celebrate New Years on different dates. This is to coincide with all the different calendars that all the different cultures use. So many people will celebrate the New Year on the 1st of January, while the Chinese may be celebrating it in February. But once you have got used to the culture where you are then it will become a natural thing for you to celebrate. But if you are in China, then the time of the New Year will change all the time. The Chinese find out their New Year by studying the lunar moon and then they can determine when the New Year will be for the next few years.