Welcome the Year of the Dog!
The year of the Rooster was indeed fiery for many of us. Let’s recall the most interesting domestic and international events which took place in 2017.
What was the year of the Rooster like in the Czech Republic?
The Czech Republic and in particular its capital was visited by a number of prominent celebrities – for instance, the famous designer Manolo Blahnik, who introduced his traveling Art of Shoes exhibit. Prague was also visited by another two famous designers, Brunello Cucinelli and Philipp Plein, at the occasion of the opening of a new boutique. Another new luxurious boutique of Céline was also opened on the famous Pařížská street.
As far as culture goes, after 3 years of construction work we saw the reopening of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague in a newly redeveloped building. New well-received Czech movies arrived to the cinemas: Po strništi bos, Masaryk (received the Czech Lion award) and Milada. Unfortunately, the year was also the last one for a number of prominent figures who were famous not only domestically but also internationally – such as excellent actor Jan Tříska and prominent Czech actress Květa Fialová. The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival was visited by Uma Thurman, Casey Afleck and Jeremy Renner.
The Prague Airport began offering new direct flights in 2017, in particular to Xi'an (operated by China Eastern Airlines), to Kaliningrad (operated by Ryanair) and to Eilat in Israel (operated by Wizz Air) and new flights by Jet2.com.
The year of the Rooster also brought new parliamentary elections, which had a clear winner: the ANO party of Andrej Babiš. This outcome divided the Czech Republic into two camps.
The year of the Rooster was a successful one for Czech sportsmen and sportswomen.
2017 was a great one for Czech female athletes! Biathlete Gábina Koukalová won gold in 7.5 km sprint in the Austrian town of Hochfilzen. Speed skater Martina Sáblíková also won gold, specifically in a 5000 meter race at the World Championship in Gangneung, Korea. And Barbora Špotáková won gold in javelin throwing at the World Championship in London.
In September, Prague hosted the premiere of the Laver Cup tennis tournament in the O2 Arena; the event was attended by world-class stars of the tennis world such as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. The Laver Cup was founded under the auspices of Federer as a tribute to the legendary Australian player Rod Laver, the only holder of two Grand Slams.
Global Awards for 2017
Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins and telling the story about growing up as a black boy in a tough part of Miami, won the best movie of 2017 award at the Oscars. Casey Affleck won the Oscar for best actor in Manchester by the Sea and Emma Stone won the Oscar for best actress in La La Land.
The Grammy awards were dominated by Adele accompanied by the late David Bowie.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) for their warnings regarding the use of nuclear weapons and their pioneering effort to achieve their ban.
The Hockey World Championship was won by Sweden, which beat Canada in the finals by a single point.
2017 from the perspective of new technologies
Virtual reality and drones are slowly becoming a part of everyday life. Right at the start of 2017, Amazon patented the idea of floating warehouses that could make deliveries via drones.
3D printers are now perfected to the point that they can make nearly everything, including several-floor villas. Autonomous vehicles are booming, and bitcoins have become a prominent method of payment – a currency which is not regulated by any government and is not subject to inflation. Apple celebrated 10 years of its existence and introduced their new luxurious iPhone X to the market.
Based on the Chinese calendar, the year of the Dog is set to begin on 16 February. What will it be like?
The Chinese calendar predicts that the year of the Dog will be unforgettable. People will invest in real property and care more for the environment. We’ll see societal changes throughout the whole year, with some of the most prominent changes being related to smoking, consumption of alcohol and unhealthy food. We will eat more local produce, allegedly focus on spiritual and religious parts of our lives, and nationalism will be on the rise along with solidarity.
The dog is a symbol of intelligence and protection, and so many important events in the year will be centered around the poorer areas in the world. However, 2018 could also be very fragile and problematic in some areas. The economy is generally expected to grow, but large changes could also take place leading to the collapse of many institutions.
Lucky colors: shades of blue, green, black, grey, brown and yellow.
The year of the Dog will bring happiness for those who were born in this sign. However, we wish luck to all of you in the upcoming year!
May the year of the Dog only bring you those changes you want to see, and we hope you insightfully solve any problems that may arise. Don’t forget that in 2018, you will be supported by the most faithful friend a human can have. We wish you all a happy new year!
