April 4th : World Rat Day

In ancient times, the Jade emperor of Chinese tradition once decided to host a race. A special one infact, as all the contestants were animals.

So who were these mighty competitors?

Well, there were 12 in all - a pig, dog, rooster, monkey, sheep, horse, snake, dragon, rabbit, tiger, rat, and an ox.

So the story goes that the race was a long one, involving a task to cross a winding river too.  Overcoming all these obstacles, the first to finish the race was, drumroll please, the rat.

Yes, that's right, the rat.

Well, the ox and rat were tied, but like they say, the cunning always wins the rat race. And yes, the pun was intended.

So the rat came first, followed by the ox, tiger, rabbit, and the others (we'll keep that for another time).

So the emperor named each year in the zodiac according to the order of animals reaching the finish line. So yeah, the first zodiac year is the year of rats.

The rat always seems to get negative connotations though, even though the rat is symbolized as the natural element, yang component, and diligence in the Chinese zodiac, and even worshipped as a god in some religions around the world.

In Hinduism, the vehicle of the mighty elephant God Ganesha is the rat, and it is also believed that the rodent is the holy descendent of an incarnation of Goddess Durga, the Devi of power and strength.

Scientifically too, rats have stolen the spotlight, as research showed that rats laugh when ticked and can even recognize faces from before.  And of course, need I remind you of the movie we all grew to love, Rattatouille, with our chef Remy and his gang of rats?

In 2002, rat owners took to the internet to discuss a possible day dedicated to their beloved pets. They wanted to initiate a World Rat Day that would promote rats as pets.  The day chosen was today, April 4th, as it was the date that the “Ratlist” began. The “Ratlist” is the oldest mailing list on the internet dedicated to the topic of pet rats. The aim is to spread awareness of this animal, in all its aspects and just give the rat a chance to shine!

Below Belgium stamp was issued in 2021 under the theme, "Endangered National wildlife"