Were you born in 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002 or 2014? Then, you were born under the sign of the horse. At least, according to the Chinese! The Asian people are celebrating their New Year on January 31 and this will be the year of the powerful horse, one of the Chinese’s favorite animals.
To them, the horse is closely linked to people’s lives because it provided a quick and useful mode of transportation in ancient times. Symbolically, the horse helps the people to fulfill a goal, to reach their destination, meaning a journey that has a successful end.
The horse is the seventh of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac and, according to the popular knowledge, the people born under this sign are very lively, active and energetic, as well as usually elegant, independent, kind and hardworking. However, their most striking characteristic in the fact that people can totally rely on them.
This means the Year of the Horse is, above all, a time for all people to move on with confidence in order to achieve their goals and dreams.
There are many traditions and customs associated with Chinese New Year. Families clean their homes thoroughly, put things in order, and so repel any bad luck, to make way for good fortune. Windows and doors are decorated with red paper cutouts delicate and poetic couplets – pairs of lines of poetry that expresses the joy of the people and hope that the New Year begins.
All this symbolism shows you that the Chinese are extremely dedicated to this holiday and to their traditions, which include fireworks, firecrackers, red envelopes, the lion and the dragon dances along with lanterns stuffed with riddles. It is really a curious holiday, worth of your attention. But if you want to find out more about it, don’t go anyway! Just take a look at this infographic and learn dozens of interesting facts about the Chinese New Year.
