The new Lunar Year will bring a baby boom in mainland China. Not only because the ‘two child policy’ has come into effect, but also because the Year of the Monkey is a particularly good time to have a baby: kids born under this zodiac are generally believed to be smart and happy.

Many people in China believe that children born in the Year of the Monkey are smart, resourceful, confident and happy (“聪明机智自信快乐”). The coming year is therefore a popular one to have a baby, and many (future) parents do all they can to give birth during this year.

At the same time, the recent implementation of the ‘two child policy‘ means that many couples in China will now either hurry to have a second child or have their first baby. It is highly likely that these factors will lead to a baby boom in the coming year, Sina News reports.

Another third reason for China’s baby boom year is that the previous year, the Year of the Goat, is considered a bad time to have a baby. There is an old Chinese saying that nine out of ten people born in the Year of the Goat are incomplete and will suffer from great misfortune throughout their life (“十羊九不全”). Women therefore rushed to the hospital in early 2015, ahead of Chinese New Year, to make sure their baby was still born in the Year of the Horse (2014). For this year, it means that couples might have planned it so they would not have a baby during the Goat year, but during the Monkey year.

The coming baby boom is already leading to a growing demand for ‘postnatal attendants’ (月嫂), women who take care of the newborn baby and the mother in the month after childbirth. During this time, most new mothers will ‘sit the month‘, meaning they will stay indoors and rest for the first four weeks after giving birth.

The monkey is considered the symbol of intelligence. Those born in the year of the monkey are believed to be powerful, sociable and gifted. According to the Chinese Zodiac Guide, those born under the Monkey zodiac will have a career as a politician, diplomat, ambassador, writer, spokesman or actor.

“Poor kids,” one Weibo netizen says, as the topic is much discussed on Chinese social media: “They will have so much pressure on them, especially during their university entrance exams.”

“The zodiac is not that important,” another Weibo user comments: “What is important is if you have money. If you don’t have money, don’t have a baby. I don’t want to insult poor people, I’m poor myself, I’m just saying that financial conditions are just as important as spiritual ones.”

Besides careers in politics or diplomacy, people with Monkey zodiacs are also believed to make excellent thieves. But that might not be what most parents are hoping for when having their babies this year.

Year of the Monkey:
1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016

– By Manya Koetse
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Image via Sohu

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