New Year，New Wish

　　All kinds of horse-themed products are filling the shelves of stores across China as the Year of theHorse has arrived. The first day of the Year of the Horsefalls on January 31 this year， and ends on February 18，2015， according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

　　“Business is great！ I have just finished sellingChristmas trinkets， and now horse-themed ones arefilling up the gap left behind，” said Wang Bo， ownerof a stand at a small commodity wholesale market indowntown Beijing， in great joy while displaying a pileof horse-shaped stuffed toys.

　　“I want to choose some horse items for my familyand friends. I hope they can bring us good luck in theNew Year，” said Xie Tong， a girl choosing gifts at thestand.

　　In addition to stuffed animals， other popularhorse-themed commodities include pendants， doorposts and others.

　　Compared to physical shops， business is boomingeven more online. While searching on Taobao.com，China’s biggest e-commerce website， more than290，000 horse-themed products are available.There are innovative commodities such ashorse-shaped USB flash disks and speakers.

　　The Chinese zodiac has 12 animals： rat，ox， tiger， rabbit， dragon， snake， horse， sheep，monkey， rooster， dog and pig. Starting withthe rat and ending with the pig， the 12animals form a cycle on the lunar calendar.

　　Horse baby boom

　　According to traditional Chinese beliefs，there is a special relationship betweenhuman beings and their zodiac animals，which is similar to Western beliefs about astrology andpersonal character.

　　Many people believe to some degree that thezodiac animal affects the disposition of those born inthe corresponding year. In turn， the zodiac symbolshave their own unique connotations， and are oftenendowed with personality attributes.

　　According to the Chinese zodiac， people born in ahorse year tend to be smart， outgoing and energetic.

　　They usually think fast with good interpersonalcommunication skills. A prominent characteristic ofpeople born in the Year of theHorse is that they are lovers offreedom and very independent.

　　Thus， the Year of theHorse usually sees ababy boom， and thisyear is no exception.“Both my parents andmy parents-in-law areputting pressure onme right now. Theyhope I can have a babythis year，” said Liu Liping， a 29-year-oldwoman who got married two years ago. “Iwant a horse baby， too， because horse babies havea good personality and enjoy better potential careersuccess.”

　　“In order to have a horse baby， some of my friendsstarted trying last year. A couple of them havealready succeeded. They are expecting their babiesin a few months，” said Liu， smiling. “I hope I can succeedtoo.”

　　“If we miss the Year of the Horse， the nextyear will be the Year of the Sheep. Many saypeople born in the Year of the Sheep haveless luck in their lives and careers. So weneed to hurry up，” said Liu. “I know thereare no scientific grounds for these beliefs，but we want to wish all the best to ourbaby.”

　　Indeed， the Year of the Horse willusher in a second baby boom thatcomes following the Year of the Dragononly two years ago. As a totemic animalwhich stands for power and wealth， thedragon has been loved by the Chinesepeople since ancient times. The Year ofthe Dragon was favored by many couples planning tohave a baby at the time.

　　In auspicious years， some couples even turn todoctors in order to have a baby. For instance， recently，more couples are looking for help in the ReproductiveMedicine Center of Shanxi Maternity and Child HealthCare Hospital and Shanxi Children’s Hospital.

　　They wish to have a baby through artificial intervention，such as “test tube” babies， according to WuXueqing， director of the reproductive center. Foundedin November 2004， the center was the first in ShanxiProvince to qualify for using embryo pre-implantationgenetic diagnosis and assisted reproductive technology.“From a medical viewpoint， I suggest that coupleschoose to have babies naturally at the proper timeand under the best physical conditions.After all， the most important thing isthat the baby is healthy，” said Wu.

　　Actually， Shanxi is not the onlyprovince to experience a babyboom. The boom experiencedall over China has also brought asurge in the child care and housekeepingservice market. Accordingto a manager of a housekeepingservice company in Taiyuan， capitalcity of Shanxi， although the year2014 has just started， most of thecompany’s maternity nannies havealready been booked with their averagesalary rising to 5，800 yuan ($959) a month.In fact， the salary of maternity nannies is evenhigher in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai，where demand for the service is high. Their jobis to provide professional care for new-bornbabies and the mother. In Beijing， the salarycan be over 10，000 yuan ($1，654) a month.

　　Totem worship

　　“As a symbol， the Chinese zodiac is a form of culturalentertainment or a psychological need forpeople，” said Gao Zhuancheng， Director of theInstitute of Sociology under the Shanxi Academyof Social Sciences.

　　Since ancient times， the legends and customcentering around the Chinese zodiac havebeen a source of imagination and an explorationof the origin of human beings. As an importantpart of China’s folk culture， the zodiacis deeply rooted in mythology and containsrich connotations. For instance， even today， theChinese people still attach great importance tothe year that they were born in and pay specialattention to recurring years in the zodiac cycle，known as benmingnian.

　　In benmingnian， people usually， regardless of ageor sex， wear red belts， socks， underwear， and wristornaments to exorcise evil spirits and invoke blessingsthroughout the year.

　　“Basically， the Chinese zodiac is an outcome ofanimal worship. The zodiac animals were chosenbecause of their close relationships with our primitiveancestors，” said Wan Jianzhong， a folk cultureprofessor and doctoral supervisor at Beijing NormalUniversity.

　　The existence of animals was a matter of life anddeath in ancient times， thus a contradictory psychologywas formed： On the one hand， people had to eatthe animals， but on the other hand， they worshippedthe animals and wished the animals could grow wellso they could provide regular food and everydayarticles.

　　“It was against this backdrop that the earliest zodiacand totem worshiping came into being in China，”said Wan.

　　“The characters of the animals and their connectionswith human beings decided the degree of theworship，” said Wan.

　　Undoubtedly， the first animals that human beingsworshipped were those closest to their life， such asthe ox， horse， sheep， rooster， dog， pig and rabbit. Thedragon， snake and tiger are the totems of the Chinesenation. Although the dragon is a mythical creature， itsmysterious authority already existed in the Chinesenation as early as 6，000 or 7，000 years ago. The monkeyis the only animal similar to people， so worship ofit is not surprising. The rat， which has a bad reputation，has long existed in human beings’ lives， so it isalso chosen as a zodiac animal.