Judy Chang Why the Bear against the Bull? It probably comes from ancient Roman times when wild animals fought each other to the death in the coliseums for the enjoyment of the crowds. A day of festivities at the Roman Coliseum started with animal fights. Lions fought tigers, wolves battled leopards, and bears battled bulls, etc. The spectators would often bet money on the outcome of these fights. Typically, a bear would be chained to a bull and they were forced to battle until death. Some days the bull won; other days the bear was victorious. Most often they both died from their wounds. There is an old Roman saying: Torre et Ursi meritant pecuniment sed Porky non" (The bulls and the bears deserve to make money but the pigs deserve nothing). So the Bull vs. Bear idea has been in the public mind for a long time. Bull and Bear fights were staged in the England of Shakespeare's time and in America in the days of the Wild West.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_trend Go to the section: Etymology It's funny how history is sometimes not clear... The way you remember which is which: * Bulls attack (gore) upwards * Bears attack (swipe) downwards. From Wikipedia - Market Trends The precise origin of the phrases "bull market" and "bear market" are obscure. The Oxford English Dictionary cites an 1891 use of the term "bull market". In French "bulle spéculative" refers to a speculative market bubble. The Online Etymology Dictionary relates the word "bull" to "inflate, swell", and dates its stock market connotation to 1714.[15] One hypothetical etymology points to London bearskin "jobbers" (market makers),[citation needed] who would sell bearskins before the bears had actually been caught in contradiction of the proverb ne vendez pas la peau de l'ours avant de l’avoir tué ("don't sell the bearskin before you've killed the bear")—an admonition against over-optimism.[citation needed] By the time of the South Sea Bubble of 1721, the bear was also associated with short selling; jobbers would sell bearskins they did not own in anticipation of falling prices, which would enable them to buy them later for an additional profit. Another plausible origin is from the word "bulla" which means bill, or contract. When a market is rising, holders of contracts for future delivery of a commodity see the value of their contract increase. However in a falling market, the counterparties—the "bearers" of the commodity to be delivered—win because they have locked in a future delivery price that is higher than the current price.[citation needed]

In a rising market, investors are moving forward and confidently purchasing. Their momentum is analogous to that of a bull. In a declining market, investors are typically unwilling to let go of cash, gold and other stable holdings and their grip is likened to that of a bear. I also heard once that bear pelt traders often sold the skins before obtaining them. This would be similar to short selling. Doesn't really explain the bull though.