Legend tells that Buddha once asked all the animals to visit him on New Year's Day but only 12 animals showed up for the occasion. They were the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog and the boar. To show his appreciation, Buddha decreed that from that day on, each of the 12 animals would give their name to a whole year and the characteristics of the animal would rule that year.