The Japanese use the Chinese Zodiac for counting years. This is a 12-year cycle, each year represented by an animal. Why the Japanese use it? Well, see back in the day every time the Japanese invaded China (all the time) they stole something or other. Kanji, Buddhism, tea, etc, etc. Along with the zodiac, they also took the Chinese new year, which might tell you why new year is such a big event here. Unfortunately for China, after Japan opened to the West in 1853 they shifted New Years to Jan 1st in an effort to be more like the successful West.

Anyways, so each year is represented by an animal. Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. In that order. Last year was the year of the Boar, so this year the cycle started over and it's the year of the Rat. Why these animals and this order? Who knows, but there is a fun little mythological story for the origin of it:

The Jade Emperor (basically the top god in Chinese myth) held a race to decide what animals would report to him. There was a big river, and the rat and the cat were bad swimmers, so they decided to hitch a ride on the back of the powerful ox. Overcome by competitiveness, the rat pushed the cat into the river, which is why the cat today hates water and hates rats even more. So after the ox crossed the river, the rat jumped off and won easily, with the ox a close second. The first and second animals of the zodiac.

The tiger came next, panting, and told how the current was so strong he never would have made it if not for his powerful strength. He was made the 3rd animal of the zodiac.

The rabbit hops up next, and tells how he crossed the river by hopping from stone to stone and using the occasional log. He became the 4th animal of the zodiac.

The dragon came next. "How is it that a powerful creature such as yourself was not first?" asked the Emperor, deeply curious. The dragon replied that he had to stop to make rain to help all the people of earth, and so was delayed. (Note: The Chinese Dragon is considered a good creature as opposed to the somewhat demonic view of European Dragons, also they look more like giant snakes. Think the dragon (Falkor) in "The Neverending Story"... Well actually Falkor was a luckdragon, a dragon with the head of a dog... but, well, you get the idea) Then on his way to the finish, he saw the rabbit struggling to cross the river and so gave a puff of breath to blow the poor creature to shore. The Emperor was deeply pleased by his kindness, and made him the 5th animal of the zodiac.

The horse comes galloping up next, but hidden in the horse's hoof is the snake. The snake's appearance frightens the horse so much he momentarily falls back, letting the snake beat him, giving the snake the 6th spot while the horse took the 7th.

The ram, monkey, and rooster came next. They worked together to spot a raft and use it to get to shore. The rooster is the one who spotted the raft, so I'm not sure why he got the bum deal here, but the ram takes 8th, the monkey 9th, and the rooster 10th.

The dog is next. His excuse for not coming in first despite being the best swimmer of the bunch was that he hadn't taken a bath in a long time and the water of the river just gave him too big of a chance to pass up. He takes 11th.

The pig comes in last, explaining that he got so hungry during the race he decided to have a feast, then promptly fell asleep afterwards. After waking up, he continued on the race. He was named the 12th and last animal of the zodiac.

Almost immediately after the pig, the cat comes across, but he was too late, there is no room for 13. He swears vengeance against the rat and all of his children for ever.. or something like that.

So there you have it. The only change the Japanese make here is they change the pig to a wild boar.

It's actually a good deal more complicated than this, involving hours and directions and all that fun feng shui (FUNG-SHWAY) stuff, but these are the only details most people know.

I'm a Horse, by the way. What are you?