HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our Chinese friends in Yummyland!!

There are twelve different animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and boar. Each has its own distinctive set of characteristics. According to Chinese legend Buddha called all the animals to him before he left the earth. Only 12 turned up so as a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived.

2003 is the Year of the Ram, and people born in it (1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003) are said to be elegant and artistic.
More trivia on the Chinese New Year.