This decorative calendar represents the twelve signs of the Chinese Zodiac. 2002 is the Year of the Horse and people born in these years are reputed to be cheerful, popular and love to compliment others. Legend says that Buddha began this tradition by calling all the animals of China to his bedside, but only twelve came. He wanted to honour the animals for their devotion and so he created a year for each animal. Western society dates years in a linear way, with a straight line from the birth of Christ. Traditional Chinese dating is cyclical, where something is repeated time after time according to a pattern. Every twelve years each Zodiac sign comes around again.