The Year of the Fire Horse

by Paula Gail Benson

This year a series of February celebrations follow each other closely on the calendar. Valentine’s Day on February 14, Washington’s Birthday or President’s Day (or Family Day in Canada) on February 16 (see background in my post on The Stiletto Gang), Mardi Gras’ Shrove Tuesday on February 17, and Ash Wednesday on February 18 (I still remember the scene from Julie Smith’s Skip Langdon novel New Orleans Mourning where Skip takes a break from an investigation to go to the service where ashes are imposed at the St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square).

Right in the middle of all these events, also on Tuesday, February 17, is Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, which, this year, is the Year of the Horse. The Smithsonian website indicates that February 17 (when the new moon appears) begins a fifteen-day Spring Festival (celebrating the transition from winter) that ends with the Lantern Festival (where children traditionally go out at night taking lanterns to solve riddles). Many lanterns are simple, with the emperor and nobles having more intricate ones. Often, they are red in color, symbolizing good fortune, and in the shape of animals. According to Wikipedia, “The lanterns can symbolize the people letting go of their past selves and getting new ones, which they will let go of the next year.”

The China Highlights Travel Guide explains that the “Chinese Zodiac or shengxiao (/shnng-sshyao/), [which means] ‘born resembling,’ has a twelve-year cycle of animals, each representative of a successive year. In order, they are the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.” Also, the animals may be characterized by the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

According to the Smithsonian website, the horse represents hard work, bravery, and resilience. The Year of the Horse occurred in 1990, 2002, 2014, and 2026.

This is a unique Year of the Fire Horse, which takes place every sixty years. The English edition of the Economic Times (indiatimes.com) indicates that fire “is associated with passion, intensity, courage and transformation.” Following a Year of the Wood Snake (wood being associated with trees and growing matter that can fuel fire and snake like a shedding of skin), “astrologers say 2026 could be a year of bold decisions, rapid progress and dramatic change. It is also a Yang year, traditionally linked to outward action and assertiveness.”

Hoping to understand what previous Years of the Fire Horse have brought about, I looked back to see when they occurred: most recently, 1906 and 1966.

Significant events that occurred in 1906 include the San Francisco Earthquake, beginning work on the Panama Canal, the first ever feature film being shown in Melbourne, Australia, the oldest African American Greek letter intercollegiate fraternity opening at Cornell University, and President Theodore Roosevelt winning the Noble Peace Prize. Persons born that year included Bugsy Siegel, Ozzie Nelson, Roberto Rosselini, Josephine Baker, Anne Morrow Lindberg, Estee Lauder, Satchel Paige, and Grace Hopper.

In 1966, several NASA launches took place, “It’s a Small World” ride opened at Disneyland, Walt Disney recorded his final message talking about the plans for EPCOT, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the Miranda warning case, and Ronald Reagan was elected Governor of California. A few well-known actors, directors, musicians, and sports figures were born in 1966, including Helena Boham Carter, Jon Favreau, J.J. Abrams, Janet Jackson, and Kurt Browning.

One development from 1966 that has continued to evolve is the Star Trek franchise, celebrating sixty years in existence with its latest series, Starfleet Academy, which was contemplated in earlier times and explored briefly in J.J. Abrams’ alternative Star Trek with Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Karl Urban. Wouldn’t that be incredible to write something that continues to be a source for the imagination more than a half century after its inception?

Are you a Trekkie or a Star Wars fan? What challenges and opportunities do you foresee for this Year of the Fire Horse?

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