Does the Year of the Sheep really bring bad luck to newborns? With the Year of the Horse drawing to an end, hospitals across China are packed with pregnant mothers-to-be eager to have their babies born before the Year of the Sheep begins, with many believing its an “ominous” year for newly-born. The so-called “sheep babies”, referring to those born in the Year of the Sheep, have long been thought as likely to suffer bad luck and misfortune throughout their life. Such superstition can be traced back to an old Chinese saying, “Shi yang jiu bu quan”, which means nine out of ten babies born in the Year of the Sheep are destined for an “incomplete” life, encountering hardships in either marriage or career. A recent online survey by People.cn shows that about 50% of participants said they had relatives or friends who avoided conceiving in the “ill-boding” Year of the Sheep. Local media have even reported that some expectant mothers have booked to have C-section deliveries before February 19, 2015, the start of the Sheep Year. Yet is the sheep really such a bad omen? Do all “sheep babies” lead a miserable life? Looking at the facts, it seems the superstition doesn’t exactly live up to expectations. In fact plenty of sheep babies have proven to be highly successful in life. In the political arena, some “sheep babies” stand out, including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Vice Premier Wang Yang, who were both born in the 1955 year of sheep. Mo Yan, Chinas first Nobel laureate in literature, was also born a “sheep baby”. Other success stories are Apple’s legendary founder Steve Jobs and founder of Microsoft Bill Gates. Check out these other famous sheep: Michelangelo, Muhammad Ali, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, Empress Dowager Cixi, Li Shimin (Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty), Jane Austen, Mel Gibson, Mick Jagger.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 04:26:31 +0000