The Year of the Sheep or Goat?

At the End of Days, God will not only judge each individual person, but will also judge nations. Jesus said in Matthew 25:31-33:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

The sheep represent the righteous who gave the hungry something to eat, the thirsty something to drink, invited strangers in, clothed the naked, looked after the sick and visited those in prison. The goats, on the other hand, represent the wicked who did none of such things.

In this year of Jubilee, will Singapore be a sheep nation or a goat nation?

Remarkably, this coming Chinese New Year will mark the beginning of the Year of the "羊" (yang). The term is broad enough to encompass goats (山羊), sheep （绵羊） or gazelle (羚羊). The article in the Sunday Times, "Sheep muscle in on Year of the Goat" (25 January 2015), explores these different interpretations:

Technically speaking, the different interpretations are not wrong. 

Assistant professor Lee Cheuk Yin, who heads the Department of Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore, says: "As the Chinese character is yang, the zodiac sign could be interpreted as either shanyang (mountain goat), mianyang (sheep) or lingyang (gazelle) and still be technically correct."

If that is the case, how did the goat claim the coveted spot in the traditional Chinese zodiac in the first place?

The simple answer is that sheep and gazelles were not commonly found in ancient China, so the Chinese were not familiar with these other breeds.

Geomancer Thomas T., 50, who owns Geomancy Hut consultancy, says: "This is why, from a traditional perspective, it's inaccurate to call this the Year of the Sheep or Ram because the zodiac sign has always been associated with the mountain goat."

Another geomancer, Mr Kevin Foong, 35, agrees that the traditional Chinese zodiac is not open to interpretation.

"A goat's horns are a sign of strength, which makes it more majestic compared with the more docile sheep," he explains.

So traditionally, "羊" refers to the goat (山羊) rather than any other breed.

 

羊

 

Other sources have also highlighted that the pictogram "羊" resembles the face of a goat, rather than a sheep, thus supporting the view that "羊" refers to goat rather than sheep.

But the point of the article, as is obvious from its title, is that people are opting for sheep instead. The Sunday Times report reads:

A tour around Chinatown bears this out, with cartoony interpretations of fluffy sheep plastered on everything from red packets to banners and lanterns.  

At Chinatown store Giftmaster, which is selling mainly sheep soft toys for Chinese New Year, sales assistant Ivy Koh, 24, says: "Customers generally prefer sheep to goats as they're more adorable, so we stock more of those."  

Ms Angelia Lim, 50, manager of another store in the area called Feng Shui Specialist, has stocked both goat and sheep merchandise for Chinese New Year.  

While she has seen equal demand for both animals, she says: "It's usually middle- aged customers who opt for traditional goat merchandise, while the younger ones gravitate towards the sheep toys."  

Ms Camille Lin, 33, a Taiwanese tourist who was shopping in Chinatown, says sheep are also beating out the goats in the marketplace at home.  

"We have lots of cute sheep plush toys in Taiwan too. I don't think it dilutes the culture just because the zodiac sign is interpreted differently," adds the waitress.  

Businesses seem to agree. SundayLife! found more than 10 companies who have opted to market and design their festive merchandise or promotional materials around sheep or rams instead of the traditional goat.  

These include Nets, Starbucks, Schroders Investment Management and online retailer Zalora, as well as hotels such as Marina Mandarin, Hotel Jen, Hotel Re! and Royal Plaza on Scotts.  

Lego also has a limited-edition Year of the Sheep set, which comes with a matching hongbao.  

For Schroders Investment Management, choosing a sheep design for its corporate hongbao lent a contemporary touch.  

Mr Jerry Low, its head of marketing, says: "During conceptualisation, we found references to goats, sheep and rams and, after researching the provenance of each, decided to give our design a more modern twist by featuring sheep instead of the more conventional goat."  

Over at Royal Plaza on Scotts, general manager Patrick Fiat says the hotel opted to go with sheep for its marketing campaign as "their shape is rounder, which we felt was symbolic of fulfilment, unity and coming full circle in the Chinese culture". The hotel has also included lamb as part of its festive yu sheng (raw fish salad) special this year.  

Do not let the proliferation of sheep get your goat though, as there is still plenty of merchandise that is sticking to tradition.  

Both Singapore Post and The Singapore Mint have stuck to the classic interpretations of the goat for their official Chinese New Year stamp and coin collections.  

But The Singapore Mint has gone one step further to cater to different tastes and generations. While it uses the mountain goat for its official coin design, a spokesman says the mint has also produced cute money boxes in the shape of sheep that are pitched at kids.  

"The fluffy sheep seemed more relatable to prosperity and we thought it would appeal more to the younger generation," she adds.  

Brands such as BreadTalk have also stayed loyal, naming its festive goat-shaped buns Happy Goat Luck.  

At the end of the day, it does not matter whether you plump for the sheep or stick to the goat.  

As undergraduate Natasha Chong, 20, puts it: "The most important Chinese New Year tradition is to celebrate with your family, no matter the animal on your red packet."

One cannot help but to see the prophetic significance of this, not least due to the title of the article in the Sunday Times, about how sheep have "muscled in". Jesus said, "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it." (Matthew 11:12) The Book of Revelation tells of the ultimate triumph of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Yet, as both Scripture and the article attest, both sheep and goats will remain. Prophetically speaking, there will be great confusion in the land, with both great light and great darkness, both contending for the destiny of the nation.

This year of Jubilee will be a year of choosing for Singapore.