The Chinese New Year is not for another three months or so, but the way people are talking about it (at least those I have been in contact with in the recent weeks), you would think it was just around the corner! In case you didn't know, we are entering the year of the Water Dragon this Jan. 23, 2012.

Here's a sample of what the conversations usually sound like:

"It's the year of the Dragon next year! You should have a baby."

"Year 2012, Dragon! Swerte 'pag nagka-baby kayo."

"Start working on your next baby now so you can give birth in time for the Dragon year."

You get the picture. Now, whether I have a baby dragon or not, I don't know (though it would be nice!) but a quick check with my ob-gynecologist confirmed what I already knew.

"Yep, I've got more deliveries coming in for next year in time for Dragon." I commented that she would probably have an influx of patients coming in as the deadline to create one looms closer and she laughed in agreement.

In fact, three of my best friends are pregnant and due in the second quarter of 2012! When I asked them for the reason, though, only one out of the three confirmed that she and her husband had, indeed, tried to time the birth of their baby in time to be a dragon.

So, why the interest in a Dragon baby? Well, according to my very good friend, Lala Gotao-Wong, a Dragon baby is the "luckiest sign to have because there is no opposition from any of the other signs, or it has the least opposition. Also, they say that dragons are usually successful in whatever they choose to do."

However, she is quick to add that a there are other factors involved, aside from the year of birth. For example, the time you give birth is greatly considered, as it has an effect on the personality of the child.

"It doesn't mean that just because you are born in the year of the dragon, you will automatically be successful. The character (influenced by time of birth) is important, too. For example, my late father, Ignacio Gotao, was a dragon but he had a tough life when he was younger."

Hard work and fate

Fortunately, through hard work, and possibly the fate destined for him as a dragon, Lala's father was able to succeed in life.

I have a family friend who, if I am not mistaken, was born in the year of the Golden Dragon. I still remember an anecdote he used to share with us about how, even as a baby, he was already earning! Families used to pay to have him roll around in their beds when he was a baby.

I asked him about this again recently, and he said that it was "because a dragon boy brings luck to any household, especially couples." So, apparently, not only is the child lucky in his/her own life, but this little bundle of joy is also a bundle of luck for the family! Now that's a pretty good deal.

However, I suddenly remembered something. I was born in the year of the Dog, and last I checked, the dog is in direct contrast with the dragon. In fact, I still distinctly remember my ang kong's (grandfather) funeral back when I was a little girl. There was an elaborate ceremony that involved a lot of drums and cymbals and what have you, but I would not really know because I had to keep my back turned the whole time.

I believe it had something to do with my animal sign conflicting with his sign and therefore interfering with his peace. Of course, this was explained to me over 20 years ago, and I could have misinterpreted the meaning, or worse yet, gotten fact and fiction mixed up in my memory of that day. For all I know, it was just to make me behave and keep quiet. I will have to follow up with someone to find out exactly what happened that day, if anyone still remembers. But I digress.

I decided to check online and found a website (strangely enough, it's a US-based bridal site called http://www.usbridalguide.com/special/chinesehoroscopes) that described the parent-child match-ups of the different signs. On a scale of 4 stars, 1 being the lowest and 4 being the highest, a Dog Parent-Dragon Child was rated 1 star with the description, "Uphill battle due to divergent ideals."

Uh-oh. That doesn't sound too good for me and my fellow canines thinking about babies in the coming year.

I wondered about this particular detail and pressed on with Lala, but at this point, she just kind of shrugged her shoulders about it. It turns out, she is a Rooster, having been born a few months before the entry of the Dog, so there was not much to think about there. However, it's not hard to figure out that maternal love will always overcome any astrologically ordained conflict.

So what makes the Dragon babies so special that success is almost always intertwined with them? A quick check on several websites produced almost the same body of text describing the personality and characteristics of our baby in question.

Never settle

The most common description for the Dragon was as a wild creature, not made for conformation. Be ready for a major extrovert who will never settle for anything mediocre. Dragons are ambitious, confident and fearless, which are some of the characteristics which often lead to success.

The list goes on and on, some websites delving into details ("Generous nature attracts many friends") which at times seem to contradict themselves already ("Solitary person at heart") but there is usually an accompanying explanation ("Self-sufficiency means no need for close bonds with other people").

And while there are the traits that spell the recipe for success, there are also some traits to watch out for such as "fiery temperament or emotional eruptions that accompany their character," as described on the above-mentioned website.

After all is said and done, the biggest question that looms is, how accurate are the predictions of Chinese astrology? On one hand, there are thousands of years and about a billion people vouching for it. And even those who aren't avid believers still have a basic working knowledge of it that they refer to once in a while, whether for fun or otherwise.

On the other hand, could it simply be a case of a self-fulfilling prophecy? Could hearing about your personality and the type of person you are "destined" to be cause someone to unconsciously follow a certain road to fulfill it? If so, this isn't so bad either, since the traits of the Dragon seem to be quite worthy of emulation.

In the meantime, are you joining the Dragon baby boom? If you plan to, best of luck to you! You may want to get started soon, in order to still make it within the Chinese year (ending on Feb 9, 2013) even if the first few tries don't prove to be successful. And while luck would certainly be welcomed, I think anyone would agree that, Dragon or not, any child born out of love is the most auspicious sign of blessing for any family.