Today marks the first day of the Chinese New Year of 4710, with celebrations that will continue up to 15 days. For many families, the new year begins with fasting—after a feast last night. It's traditional to mark the new year with forgiveness and reconciliation—take advantage of the occasion and make a wish of peace and happiness for others unsecured loans.

You Need To Know It's Also Buddha's Birthday: Tradition holds the first day of the new year as the birthday of Maitreya Bodhisattva, or Budai Luohan, the prince who attained nirvana and became the Buddha.

You Need To Know About New Year's Traditions: Listen up, kids: it's traditional for parents to give their kids red envelopes with money on the first day of the Chinese New Year—it's a way of launching the new year with a sign of prosperity and good fortune (employees may also get bonuses today, as well!). bad credit loans

You Need To Know The Calendar Is Lunar: The Chinese calendar is based on the lunar cycle, instead of the solar cycles we're used to, which is why the dates move a bit from year to year. The new year usually begins with the second new moon after the winter solstice (usually Dec. 21). 

You Need To Know It Might Be The Year 4649...But It Doesn't Matter: China is a big country, with a long history, so things are always cut and dried. Tradition holds the calendar dates to the reign of Hunag-di, known as the Yellow Emperor, who was credited as the originator of the centralized state and Chinese culture. But the Chinese didn't keep track of the calendar in a sequential way for the most part, instead choosing to track years through the years of the subsequent dynasties. 

You Need To Know Local Celebrations: Where else would you go but New York's Chinatown? Take in the Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival, sponsored by the Better Chinatown Society, at Sara Roosevelt Park (at Canal and Forsyth streets), from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. There will be singers and dancers, and lion, dragon and unicorn dance troupes marching through the Chinatown area.

Wiki- protest

Wikipedia will black out its Web site on Wednesday to protest SOPA, a version of anti-piracy legislation that’s being considered by Congress.

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales made the announcement on Twitter on Monday, saying the site would shut down English versions of the crowd-sourced online encyclopedia at midnight Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday until midnight on Wednesday.

Wales called the move a “community decision.” He pointed to a page that was created to gauge support for a possible blackout. Users have until 6:59 p.m. today to weigh in on the decision.

Wales and other SOPA opponents hope to draw attention to language in SOPA that, according to some, is too broad and could hurt free speech and innovation.

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales. (AP) Wikipedia is not alone in its plans for a blackout. Reddit and the Cheezburger network that includes sites like The Daily What and bad credit loans Fail Blog also plan to shut down to protest SOPA. The document service Scribd already made a billion pages vanish. Craigslist boasts a notice on their frontpage saying “Stop SOPA and PIPA. [The bills] are threatening Craigslist and the rest of your Internet. Most of the web sites you use strongly oppose these bills.”

The online protests are changing the debate.

Over the weekend, the White House hinted that it would oppose the current version of the bill. And key sponsors are stepping away from its most controversial aspects.

If Wikipedia blacks out as promised, Wales expects an estimated 25 million daily visitors to be affected. His advice for students who might rely on the site: “Do your homework early.” unsecured loans

Russian Winter Festival

Russian Winter Festival is one of the most popular carnivals unsecured loans of Russia. It is an annual festival celebrated at all the major cities in Russia. It can also be named as a type of Christmas carnival as it is celebrated during the 12 days of Christmas celebrations. 

Though it is celebrated throughout the European nation, but the place which attracts numerous tourists for its celebration of Winter Festival in Russia is Moscow. The city hosts this festivity at Izmailovo Park. Russian Winter Festival is a perfect venue for tourists to explore the culture and tradition of the Russians. 

One can check out the Russian traditions bad credit loans of celebrating Christmas and New Year during the celebrations of Winter Festival at Russia. Numerous singers and musicians from across the globe gather here to participate in the festivity. Moreover, dance competitions and other games are organized for the entertainment of the visitors. 

Guests at Winter Festival of Russia can participate in dance around New Year tree or enjoy a sleigh ride through the snowy forests or relish with the pancakes along with caviar, tea, bagels, honey and jam or merry amidst the folk games. Festival Russian Winter ends with a Russian folk music concert.  

Year of the Dragon

In Chinese tradition, each year is dedicated to a specific animal. The Dragon, Horse, Monkey, Rat, Boar, Rabbit, Dog, Rooster, Ox, Tiger, Snake, and Ram are the twelve animals unsecured loans that are part of this tradition. In 2012, the Dragon is welcomed back after the 2011 year of the Rabbit. Each of these animals are thought to bestow their characteristics to the people born in their year.

While the Year of the Rabbit was characterized by calm and tranquility, the Year of the Dragon will be marked by excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration and intensity. The Rabbit imbues people with a sense of cautious optimism, but people respond to the spirit of the Dragon with energy, vitality and unbridled enthusiasm, often throwing all caution to the wind – which can be an unwise move: The Dragon is all about drama but if you take unnecessary risks, you may find yourself starring in your own personal tragedy.

The Dragon’s Personality

People born under the Dragon are passionate, brave and self-assured. At their best they are pioneering spirits; at their worst, they epitomize the old adage: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Dragons are generous with their resources, a tendency that at its most negative can reflect a foolhardy attitude towards money. But Dragons in general are blessed with good fortune. They are smart, enterprising and have a wicked sense of humor. They have a natural flair for fashion and are the people to consult if you want to catch up on the latest trends.

This Chinese New Year 2012 ushers in the Water Dragon. Water exerts a calming influence on the Dragon’s innate fire. Water Dragons are more open to other people’s opinions than other Dragons which gives them the ability to channel their personal charisma into real leadership qualities.

Famous celebrities born in under the Dragon include John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Al Pacino, Marlene Dietrich and Matt Dillon. The Dragon’s lucky color is yellow.

The Dragon and Love

Dragons are passionate. They fall in love quickly – and out of love just as quickly. Their charisma and charm is an immense draw to people of the opposite sex whose bad credit loans attention and admiration they crave. Though they have a tendency to treat love like a game, they can settle down when they meet the right partner, someone who’s strong enough not to be bowled over by the Dragon’s flamboyant, independent and stubborn personality.

The Dragon’s ideal partners are the Rat, the Monkey, and the Rooster: The Rat is practical, observant and resourceful, able to help the Dragon when extravagant promises have backed the Dragon into a corner. The Monkey is just as popular as the Dragon, curious, intellectual and fun-loving, one of the few personalities the Dragon doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight with. The Rooster can give the Dragon a run for the money on the fashion-forward front; attractive, well-groomed, fiercely loyal and committed to honesty, the Rooster serves as the Dragon’s reality check, keeping the Dragon from making promises that he or she can’t keep.

The Dragon and Wealth

Dragon years are lucky for anyone thinking of starting a business or initiating a new project of any sort because money is easier to come by for everyone, whether it’s earned, borrowed or received as a gift. Consequently we can expect the economic downturn to ease up a bit in the coming year. Fortunes can be made but they can also be lost: Keep in mind like all good things, the Year of the Dragon will come to an end and you will be held accountable for unreasonable extravagances.

Dragons do well in professions that give them the ability to function somewhat autonomously. They make excellent sales people, publicists, political campaigners, lawyers, real estate brokers, actors and politicians.