Create a Chinese New Year Calendar

The Chinese New Year is coming up on Feb. 14. It's the beginning of the year 4707, or Year of the Tiger, and a perfect time to print a new calendar! The Chinese calendar is based on the cycles of the sun and the moon and differs from the purely solar-oriented Western or common calendar.

That's why the Chinese New Year falls at a different time each year, and not at the start of January as it does with the common calendar. In Chinese culture, common calendars are used to conduct business and daily events in sync with the global standards. But the traditional Chinese calendar remains significant in households and businesses because it helps determine auspicious dates to hold important events such as weddings or meetings and tracks Chinese holidays. To print a Chinese New Year inspired calendar, check out the two tips below: Choose from a variety of formats When printing a Chinese New Year Calendar you may want to print a 12-month calendar, beginning with February of 2010, when the New Year begins. For a 12-month calendar, try using a traditional calendar format with one image on top of each spread and a monthly planner below. For a more celebratory format, you could also design a poster calendar, with an image of the tiger set in the center of the poster and a smaller 12-month calendar grid shown at the bottom of the poster. Finally, you could print a smaller brochure format of just the 15-day Chinese New Year calendar, tracking all of the daily events and celebrations of the New Year. Get the design and details right There is a ton of history and nuance behind the Chinese calendar, too much to possibly include here. But to learn more about all of the wonderful legends and beliefs associated with the calendar, Wikipedia's page on Chinese calendars is a good place to start. There are flowers, animals and zodiac signs associated with each month, all of which can be incorporated into the design of the calendar. Some other standard design elements that you'll want to include are the colors red and gold, auspicious phrases promoting longevity and success, red lanterns, dragons, fireworks and fish. To create a Western-style calendar that syncs up with all of the relevant Chinese holidays, visit this helpful site, which overlays the Chinese calendar onto each Western calendar month. It shows where the Chinese months begin and end and highlights significant Chinese dates or festivities.