Chinese New Year 2019 Animal: Year of the Pig Zodiac Sign, Meaning Explained

Midnight on February 5 will mark the beginning of the Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year of the Spring Festival. Midnight will mark only the beginning of the 15-day long event, which will be filled with traditional rituals and celebrations.

The 12-year Chinese zodiac calendar will enter the final portion of its circuit on February 5, rolling into the year of the pig. According to CNN, the year of the pig is considered a positive one, generally indicating wealth and fortune for those born in the upcoming 12 months.

Chinesenewyear.net explains that pigs are a symbol of wealth and their chubby faces and big ears denote good fortune. The website also lauds the pig's "beautiful personality." Recent years of the pig include 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995 and 2007.

"Pigs might not stand out in a crowd. But they are very realistic," the website adds, explaining some characteristics associated with people born in those years. "Others may be all talk and no action. Pigs are the opposite."

"Though not wasteful spenders, they will let themselves enjoy life. They love entertainment and will occasionally treat themselves. They are a bit materialistic, but this is motivation for them to work hard. Being able to hold solid objects in their hands gives them security."

The graphic below was provided by Statista, highlighting the biggest temporary migrations of people on Earth.

Pigs are generally thought to be "energetic and are always enthusiastic, even for boring jobs." But they are far from faceless drones happy to clock in and clock out. "If given the chance, they will take positions of power and status. They believe that only those people have the right to speak, and that's what they want."

Men born in the year of the pig are thought to be "optimistic and gentle. They are very focused. Once they decide on a goal, they'll put everything into it."

However, they are not so financially responsible. "Though cool-headed, they are also gullible. They trust others easily and are often scammed. This can cause them to lose a fortune."

They may be quiet, but male pigs enjoy close social bonds. "They're not conversationalists, but treat everyone warmly. This results in a large social circle. Whenever they run into difficulties, there are always people who stand up to help. Though people will lie to them, more will love them."

Women born in the year of the pig are thought to be high socialible and genuine. " Combined with their easy-going personality, they gain everyone's trust," Chinesenewyear.net says.

Sometimes they go a little too far, and can "forget to give others personal space." Like their male pigs, females are predisposed to wealth. "As long as they keep at it, the efforts will not go to waste. Though they don't start with an advantage, their hard work will keep money flowing in."

It should be noted that the Chinese calendar has more complexity than just 12 zodiac animals. Each animal—which refers to a so-called "earthly branch"—combines with one of 10 "heavenly stems" to create a sexagenary cycle.

For 2019, the earthly branch is "hai," meaning the symbol that stands for pig. This will combine with "ji" which is the heavenly stem for yin and earth. As such, 2019 will be the year of "ji hai," or earth pig.

The last earth pig year was in 1959. "These pigs are social butterflies with friends from all walks of life," Chinesenewyear.net explains. "They have a lot of support in both work and life. They have fortunate lives and can find happiness. They are successful later in life. However, they aren't the most romantic people and might need to work on that."

According to the Travel China Guide, famous pigs include Hillary Clinton, Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The list of pig alumni also includes influential historical figures, including 16th-century English King Henry VIII and 20th-century Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek.

This article was updated to include an infographic.