From the Managing Director

To those of you who follow the Gregorian calendar, Happy New Year and to those who follow the Chinese calendar, Happy New Year as well.  January is a significant month for us as many return to work from the festive holidays, prepare for the routine of the new school year ahead and enjoy the height of the lazy, hazy days of summer (and then we start the build up to another festive season!). 

I thought this month I might share a few facts about leap years, dragons and people who eat jelly babies.

Did you know that from the beginning of February there are only 328 shopping days to Christmas?  Count them if you don’t believe me!  2012 is also a leap year.  It is easy to remember a leap year - a leap year is always the year when the whole world has to live through a U.S. presidential election!  There are all kinds of ways to mark leap day, a mathematical curiosity that has no inherent meaning beyond righting the hours we've lost during each of the preceding three years.  Leap Year has been the traditional time that women can propose marriage.  When the rules of courtship were stricter (the “good old days”), women were only allowed to pop the question on one day every four years.  That day was February 29th. It is believed this tradition was started in 5th century Ireland when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for so long for a man to propose.  According to legend, St. Patrick said the yearning females could propose on this one day in February during the leap year.  A Greek superstition claims couples have bad luck if they marry during a leap year; apparently, one in five engaged couples in Greece will avoid planning their wedding during a leap year.

People born under In the year of the Dragon (1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000), the most auspicious animal as per the Chinese zodiac, tend to be popular individuals who are always full of life and enthusiasm, with a reputation for being fun-loving and for a "big mouth" at times.  People born in the Chinese New Year of the Dragon are healthy, energetic, excitable, short-tempered, and stubborn. They are also honest, sensitive, brave, and they inspire confidence and trust. They neither borrow money nor make flowery speeches, but they tend to be soft-hearted which sometimes gives others an advantage over them. People under this Chinese New Year zodiac are well suited to be an artist, priest, or politician. Chinese zodiac dragon are compatible with Rats, Snakes, Monkeys, and Roosters.

A piece of research from Victoria University, New Zealand in October last year revealed that 5% of people prefer to eat jelly babies feet first.  Just 1% said that they’d never eat a lolly shaped like a person. This group were also the most conservative and reported the lowest incomes.

Thank you for your business in 2011 we look forward to helping you provide the best possible care through the remainder of 2012.

Trevor Martin
Managing Director
Gunz Dental
ph +61 2 99356677