Theyear2009istheYearofOx.TheoxisarepresentativeofthefarmingcultureofChina.

Inthefarmingeconomy(经济),oxenarethemajoranimalspullingplows(犁).

Ofcourse,thegoodofoxenisnotlimitedtoplowing.Infact,theyareseenas"boatsonland"

fortheirabilitytocarryloads.Besides,thewholebodyofanoxisfulloftreasures.Theirmeatandmilkarefoodfullofnutrition,andtheirskincanbeusedtomakeclothesandshoes.Withallthesequalities,oxenareregardedasgenerouscreatures.

Inthepast,oxenplayedanimportantroleinthespirituallifeoftheChinese.Eventoday,oxenstillplayaspecialpartinsomefolkactivities.Forexample,somepeoplewholiveinsouthwest

Chinawillcookcattlebonesoupandshareitamongfamilymemberswhenholdingthe

ceremonyforchildrenwhoreach13.Theybelievethatthecattlebonesouprepresentsthe

bloodrelationshipamongfamilymembers.Inordertoexpresstheirloveforoxen,peoplein

someotherareaswillruntoshakeoffdiseasesonthe16thdayofthefirstmonthbythe

lunarcalendar(农历),andduringtheirruntheywilltaketheiroxenalong,whichindicatestheyregardthecreatureashuman.

Becauseofthecontributionofoxenintheirlives,theChinesepeopleareverygratefulto

theanimal.Inaddition,theuseofoxeninceremoniesandthethankspeopleowetooxenhelptodevelopvarioustraditionalcustoms,whichbecomesanimportantpartofthefolkcultureoftheChinesenation.