SeeCalifornia.com

Monterey Park, Calif. celebrates the Year of the Rat each year along Garvey Avenue at a free festival attracting an estimated 250,000 people.

On or around January 25, 2020 people all over the world celebrate the Lunar New Year – The Year of the Rat.

If you were born on these dates, you’re a rat, according to the Zodiac signs:

In California the rat has gotten a bad rap as the carrier of diseases on the sewage-infested streets where homeless encampments are set up, or behind restaurants and eateries where garbage bins fester with uneaten and spoiled foods. Sometime rats work their way into establishments and that becomes a real problem that can shut down restaurants and businesses due to health issues.

But in the Lunar New Year the Rat is the first of all zodiac animals. It is associated with the Earthly Branch, the midnight hours and in terms of yin and yang, the Rat (yang) represents the beginning of a new day. Rats have been seen as a sign of wealth and surplus in Chinese culture. Married couples have prayed to them for children, thanks to their  reproduction rate.

This weekend Monterey Park hosts its annual Lunar New Year’s Festival, January 11-12, 2020. It is one of many upcoming California celebrations to ring in the fabulous, fantastic Year of the Rat!