十二生肖羊的由來羊在十二生肖中居第八位，與十二地支配屬“未”，故一天十二時辰的“未時”一一午后一點至三點又稱“羊時”。易卦以“兌為羊”。在五行中，羊屬火，所以為火畜。在中國民間傳說中，羊因盜五谷種子給人間而舍生取義。在遠古洪荒時代，人間是沒有五谷的，人類靠蔬菜和野草為生，嚴重的營養不良，使人類面黃肌瘦。有一天秋天，一只神羊從天宮來到凡間，發現人類面有菜色，神情萎靡。問及原因，才知道人類不種糧食，連什么叫糧食也不知道。神羊善心大發，當即告訴人們下次一定給他們帶些糧種來。原來當時只有天宮御田里才種有營養豐富的糧食。吝嗇的玉帝不愿把糧食的美味拿給人類分享。神羊回到天宮，趁半夜守護天神熟睡之際，偷偷溜進御田里，摘下五谷（稻、稷、麥、豆、麻），含在口中，趁天未亮，溜至凡間，人類聽說神羊給他們帶來了五谷種子，都十分好奇。神羊把種子交給人類，又吩咐了種植五谷的方法，就悄悄地回到天宮去了。人類播下五谷種籽，當年就長出了莊稼。在收獲時，人類見到五谷的穗，即似羊頭，又像羊尾，收獲的糧食又香又甜，收獲的麻織成的衣裳又輕又暖。人們在秋收冬藏之后，便舉行了盛大的祭祀儀式，以感謝神羊的送種之恩，這類秋收冬藏的農家祭祖儀式至今仍有部分農村在舉行。盛大的祭羊儀式驚動了玉帝，玉帝又想到了人間出現五谷。立即想到神羊把谷各帶給人間。查明情況后，玉帝遷怒神羊，命令天宮宰羊于人間，并要人們吃掉羊肉。第二年奇怪的事兒發生了，在神羊行刑的地方，先是長出了青草，后來長出了羊羔，羊從此在人間傳宗接代，以吃草為生，把自己的肉、奶無私地貢獻給人類，人類則出于對羊舍身這種的感謝，每年都舉行臘祭，以示紀念。當人類聽說玉帝要挑十二種動物為人類生肖，并賜為神之后，人們一致推舉羊作為這類生肖。盡管玉帝對羊盜谷之事耿耿于懷，但難拗眾人意見，只好同意羊當上了生肖。下午1—3時（即“未時”），據說羊在這時候，灑尿最勤，灑的尿可治愈自身一種驚瘋病，因此，未時屬羊。Sheepineighthplace,intheChinesezodiacandthetwelveearthlybranchesbundled"not",sotheday"attheseventhhour"-afternoon12:00Chenonetothreealsoknownas"sheep”.Inthefiveelements,thesheepbelongstofire,sofireforlivestock.IntheChinesefolklore,sheepstealthecornseedtohuman.Thereisnograininancienttimes,humansurvivalbyvegetablesandweeds,lookslikeseveremalnutrition,sallowandemaciated.Onedayintheautumn,andasheepcametoearthfromheaven,hefoundhumanfacesallow,lookweak.Askedwhy,justknowthehumanbeingisnotfood,doesn'tevenknowwhatisfood.Godsheepwithbenevolence,promptlytellpeoplemustgivethemtobringsomeseedsnexttime.OriginallywasonlyTiangongroyalfieldkindofnutritiousfoodinabundance.Stingy,thejadeemperorwouldn'tsharedeliciousfoodtohuman.Godthesheepbacktotheheavenlypalace,guardianangelwassleepinginthemiddleofthenight,whilesneakingintothefield,tookthegrain(rice,millet,wheat,beans,hemp),containinthemouth,inthemorning,sneaktotheearth,humansheardGodbringthemcornseeds,sheepareverycurious.Godsheepgiveseedstohumans,andcommandedthemethodofplantinggrainwentquietlybacktotheheavenlypalace.Humansowncornseeds,thisyeartogrowcrops.Atthetimeofharvest,thehumansawthecornear,namelylookslikesheephead,entered,andlikegrainfragrantandsweet,theharvestoflinenclothes,lightandwarm.Peopleaftertheautumnharvestwinterizing,heldagrandceremonyofsacrifice,tothankGodsheepsendingsuchapeasanttohuman.Thisceremonystillapartoftheautumnharvestwinterizingheldinruralareas.BigsheepritualshockedtheJadeemperor,theJadeemperorandthoughtabouttheworldinthegrain.ImmediatelythinktheGodsheepbringtheseedtohuman.Sheep,afterfindoutthesituation,thejadeemperorwasangrywithGodsheepandcommandsTiangongslaughteredsheepontheearth,andpeopleeatmutton.Thesecondyearinastrangethinghappened,intheplacewhereGodsheepontheexecution,thefirstlongoutofthegrass,thenlongoutofthelamb,sheepfromnowoninthehumanfamily,eatinggrassforaliving,hisownmeat,milkselflesslycontributiontohumanbeings,humanisoutofgratitude,forsheepgivetheGreekfestival,heldeachyear,asatochoosetwelveanimalstohumanbeings,andgiventoGod,afterpeoplerallyingaroundthesheepforthistypeofChinesezodiac.Inspiteofthejadeemperorangryaboutthematterofthesheepstolenvalley,butdifficulttoignorethepublicopinions,sowehavetoagreetosheepwhentheChinesezodiac.1-3PM(thatis,"attheseventhhour"),itissaidthatsheepatthistime,mostfrequently,peeisaspersedurinecancurethediseaseitselfasurprise,therefore,atthesevent