A new Google Doodle is ringing in the Lunar New Year — in Chinese astrology, the Year of the Goat — with an animated graphic that looks more like a sheep. Or it could be a ram. But the confusion is understandable, since the Chinese word (羊) for all three animals is the same.

Google Doodle

For people across East Asia, this is an important time for family reunions. In China, what is often called the largest annual human migration on earth takes place as millions of migrant workers leave the cities and board trains to return to their native villages for what is also called the Spring Festival.

The largest annual human migration

It’s tempting to draw an analogy between packed train carriages and flocks of sheep, but, as anyone who has traveled in China during peak periods knows, you need to be much more of a ram if you’re going to stand any hope of getting aboard.

sheep or ram?

Gong xi fa cai! Good luck and prosperity in 2015

Lunar New Year 2015 (Vietnam)

A folklore expert from the Beijing Institute of Culture and History told the New York Times, “Goat and sheep are different in French and English, but what’s that got to do with Chinese traditional culture?” He said the debate was silly.

Either way, this new lunar year represented by the sheep (or goat) will be one of peace, harmony and tranquility according to the Chinese Zodiac calendar, and will bring luck to anyone born during previous years of the sheep.

有关“羊”的一些idioms

black sheep of the family: 最不争气的那个

Separate the sheep from the goats: 分清良莠

由于《圣经》的影响,sheep和goat在英语中的形象截然不同,前者比喻好人,后者比喻坏人。英语中有关goat的成语,大多贬义。如:to play/act the goat=play the fool（瞎胡闹,哗众取宠）；to get someone's goat（触动肝火); 等等。《圣经》说牧羊人要分辨绵羊和山羊,“把绵羊安置右边,山羊左边”。据说野山羊常混进羊群里,引诱绵羊,故牧养人必须把它们区分开来,以免混淆。

play/act the goat

Wolf in sheep's clothing: 披着羊皮的🐺

ram做动词表示“强迫”的意思，有一个常用的短语是

ram/shove something down sb's throat: 强行的向他人一遍遍的灌输你的想法意见

来几个中文的idioms

资料来源http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/02/05/five-chinese-idioms-about-sheep

羊毛出在羊身上

Wool comes from the sheep's back

挂羊头卖狗肉

To Hang a Sheep’s Head While Selling Dog Meat

羊质虎皮

A Sheep in a Tiger’s Skin

亡羊补牢

Mend the Fold After a Sheep is Lost

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