Year of the Dog begins Jan. 29, 2006

The Year of the Dog begins on January 29, 2006. (Chinese Year 4704)

This means that February 12^th ‘should’ find you preparing for the Lantern festival which begins on the 15^th night, which is February 13^th this year.

To see a Chinese calendar for January & February 2006, go to:
http://www.chinapage.com/astronomy/calendar/2006/sc-2006-1.pdf
http://www.chinapage.com/astronomy/calendar/2006/sc-2006-2.pdf

There is a special name for the first day of the new year - but you should be able to see the character for 2 (二), on January 30th, and for 3 (三) on January 31st.

For more on Chinese calendars see:
http://www.chinapage.com/astronomy/calendar/calendar.html
http://www.new-year.co.uk/chinese/calendar.htm