The Chinese word for "year(s) old" suì) is entirely different from the usual word for "year(s)" (, nián), reflecting the former importance of Chinese astrology and the belief that one's fate was bound to the stars imagined to be in opposition to the planet Jupiter at the time of one's birth. The importance of this duodecennial orbital cycle only survives in popular culture as the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, which change each Chinese New Year and may be used as a theme for some gifts or decorations. Because of the importance attached to the influence of these stars in ancient China and throughout the Sinosphere, East Asian age reckoning previously began with one at birth and then added years at each Chinese New Year, so that it formed a record of the suì one had lived through rather than of the exact amount of time from one's birth. This methodwhich can differ by as much as two years of age from other systemsis increasingly uncommon and is not used for official purposes in the PRC or on Taiwan, although the word suì is still used for describing age.
