The 12 animals
The twelve signs of Chinese horoscope are symbolized by twelve animals. It is believed that a person takes the characteristics of the animal in whose year they are born. There is also a cycle of five elements, therefore a complete Chinese horoscope cycle takes 60 years.

From Rabbit to Dragon
On 5 February 2000 the placid Year of the Rabbit makes way for the volatile Year of the Golden Dragon. Taking place once in every 60-year cycle, the Golden Dragon promises to be an exciting and auspicious year . Find out what the Year of the Golden Dragon has in store for you ...

How it all began
It is claimed that the Chinese Lunar Calendar dates back to 2637 B.C. Every full Chinese astrological cycle passes through each of the twelve signs five times, each of which has one 'golden' year. The full cycle therefore takes 60 years. Legend has it that the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from Earth. Only twelve of the animals came to bid him farewell, so Buddha honored them each with a year. The order was taken from the sequence that they appeared to him; first the Rat, then the Ox, the Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

Rat 1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996	Horse 1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002
Ox 1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997	Ram 1907, 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003
Tiger 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998	Monkey 1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004
Rabbit 1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999	Rooster 1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005
Dragon 1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000	Dog 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006
Snake 1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001	Pig 1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007