The Chinese New Year and Snake people

(CNN) -- The Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

People born in the Year of the Snake are considered romantic and deep-thinking, wise and charming, although they tend to dismiss others too quickly and are a bit stingy with money. Ideal jobs include teaching or psychiatry.

Famous people born in the Year Of The Snake: Jean Simmons, Sir Roger Banister, Burt Bacharach, Neil Diamond, Paddy Ashdown, Vivienne Westwood, Franz Schubert, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Gabriel Faure, Brooke Shields and Bob Dylan.