Lucky symbols abound for New Year

From red lanterns to special dumplings, China readies for Year of the Horse

Spring Festival this year marks the beginning of the Year of the Horse according to the Chinese zodiac that assigns one of 12 animals, either real or mythological, to each year. The horse ranks seventh in the cycle, preceded by the snake and followed by the goat.

A legend goes that horses used to have wings and could fly, swim and run equally fast. A horse that served as the mount of the mythological Jade Emperor became so arrogant that it forced its way into the Dragon King's Palace after killing its guardian. This infuriated the Jade Emperor, who had the horse's wings chopped off and imprisoned it underneath the Kunlun Mountains in the far west.