This Chinese Zodiac, like it's Western counterpart comprising the science of astrology(zodiac signs) and horoscopes, it even goes so far as to tell you best relate with or who you should marry.
The twelve animals and the year they represent(moving forward) are:
2002 Horse
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2003 Sheep
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2004 Monkey
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2005 Rooster
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2006 Dog
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2007 Pig
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2008 Rat
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2009 Ox
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2010 Tiger
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2011 Rabbit
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2012 Dragon
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2013 Snake
The Chinese calendar year either contains twelve or thirteen moons unlike our Gregorian calendar year which always ends on 31st December and begins at midnight 1st January. The Chinese Calendar is a flexible entity, which never begins or ends on the same date twice in a row. The Chinese divide up time differently too. Our Gregorian Calendar is made up of centuries that cover one hundred years subdivided by ten into ten-year periods called decades. The Chinese have 'centuries' too, but they are only sixty Chinese years long. The sixty-year Chinese 'centuries' are sub-divided into five twelve-year periods. The Chinese are not in the twentieth century of their calendars, they are way ahead of us, not only because they started earlier and didn't base everything in their calendar on the Birth of Christ, but also because they have shorter, sixty year centuries. The Chinese entered their seventy-eighth century on February 2nd 1984. The next Chinese century will start in 2044.
