It is the year of the Black Horse February 12, 2002.  It is Year 4699 by Chinese calendar.  "Xin Nian Kuai Le!"  Happy New Year!  "Gong Hay Fat Choy!"   May Good Luck Bring you Fortune!

"The Year of Horse"

1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002

People born in the Year of the Horse are Physically attractive and 
are popular. They are cheerful, skillful with money, and perceptive,
 although they sometimes talk too much. The are wise, talented, good
 with their hands, and sometimes have a weakness for members
 of the opposite sex. They are impatient and hot-blooded about everything
 except their daily work. They like entertainment and large crowds.
 They are very independent and rarely listen to advice. You need to
 guard against being somewhat egotistical at times.
 You would be good as a scientist or a poet.



Horse children are cheerful and popular. They have short tempers.
 Though they seem strong on the outside they might be weak on
 the inside. They like large crowds and entertainment.
 They don't like listening to advice



 Famous people born in the Year of the Horse: Chopin, Aretha Franklin.



 People born under the Horse are  most compatible with Tigers,
 Dogs, and Sheep. your opposite is the Rat. 

http://www.new-year.co.uk/chinese/year.htm

Although celebrations of the Chinese New Year vary, the underlying message is
 one of peace and happiness for family members and friends.

Preparations tend to begin a month from the date of the Chinese New Year
 (similar to a Western Christmas), when people start buying presents,
 decoration materials, food and clothing. Choosing Bright red represents happiness
 and gold/orange represents wealth and happiness.



The entire house should be cleaned before New Year's Day.
 On New Year's Eve, all brooms, brushes, dusters, dust pans and other
 cleaning equipment are put away. Sweeping or dusting should not be done
 on New Year's Day for fear that good fortune will be swept away.
 After New Year's Day, the floors may be swept. Beginning at the door,
 the dust and rubbish are swept to the middle of the parlor, then placed
 in the corners and not taken or thrown out until the fifth day. 
At no time should the rubbish in the corners be trampled upon. 
In sweeping, there is a superstition that if you sweep the dirt out over
 the threshold, you will sweep one of the family away. Also, to sweep
 the dust and dirt out of your house by the front entrance is to sweep away the
 good fortune of the family; it must always be swept inwards and then
 carried out, then no harm will follow.
 All dirt and rubbish must be taken out the back door. 



Doors and window panes are given a new coat of paint, usually red. 
The doors and windows are then decorated with paper cuts and couplets
 with themes such as happiness, wealth and longevity printed on them.



Prior to New Year's Day, Chinese families decorate their living rooms with
 vases of pretty blossoms, platters of oranges and tangerines and a candy 
tray with eight varieties of dried sweet fruit. On walls and doors are
 poetic couplets, happy wishes written on red paper. 



Every traditional Chinese household should also have live blooming plants
 to symbolize rebirth and new growth. Flowers are believed to be symbolic
 of wealth and high positions in one's career.
 Lucky is the home with a plant that blooms on New Year's Day,
 for that foretells a year of prosperity.
 The Chinese firmly believe that without flowers, there would be no
 formation of any fruits. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to
 have flowers and floral decorations.



Oranges and Tangerines are symbols for abundant happiness. 
Tangerines are symbolic of good luck, and oranges are symbolic of wealth. 
When you visit family or friends anytime during the two week long Chinese New 
Year celebrations you must take a bag of oranges and tangerines.



Many families keep a tray full of dried fruits, sweets, and candies to welcome
 guests and relatives who drop by. This tray is called a chuen-hop, 
or "Tray of Togetherness". It is either arranged in a circle or octagon.
 Traditionally, it was made up of eight compartments, each of which is filled 
with a special food item of significance to the New Year season. 
After taking several pieces of candy from the tray, adults places a
 red envelope (lai see) on the center compartment of the tray. 
Each item represents some kind of good fortune. 



The Tray of Togetherness normally consists of the following:-


Candied melons - growth and good health 
Red melon seeds - these are usually dyed red to symbolize joy, happiness, truth and sincerity
Lychee nuts - strong family ties 
Kumquats - prosperity
Coconuts - togetherness
Peanuts - longevity
Longans - many good and well-behaved sons
Lotus seeds - many children 

        

Bringing In the New Year and Expelling the Old


The eve of the New Year is perhaps the most exciting part of the event,
 as anticipation creeps in. Here, traditions and rituals are very carefully
 observed in everything from food to clothing. Dinner is usually a feast
 of seafood and dumplings, signifying different good wishes. 
Delicacies include prawns, for liveliness and happiness, dried oysters
 (or ho xi), for all things good, raw fish salad or yu sheng to bring good luck
 and prosperity, Fai-hai (Angel Hair), an edible hair-like seaweed to
 bring prosperity, and dumplings boiled in water (Jiaozi) signifying a
 long-lost good wish for a family. Whole fish, to represent togetherness 
and abundance, and a chicken for prosperity. The chicken must be
 presented with a head, tail and feet to symbolize completeness.
 Noodles should be uncut, as they represent long life.



It's usual to wear something red as this colour is meant to ward off evil spirits - 
but black and white are out, as these are associated with mourning.
 After dinner, the family sit up for the night playing cards, board games 
or watching TV programmes dedicated to the occasion. 



On the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, every door in the house,
 and even windows, have to be open to allow the old year to go out. 
The sky will be lit up with firecrackers as its the Chinese way of sending
 out the old year and welcoming in the New Year.

On New Year's Day, you are not suppose to wash our hair because it would
 mean we would have washed away good luck for the New Year.
 Red clothing is preferred during this festive occasion. Red is considered
 a bright, happy color, sure to bring the wearer a sunny and bright future.
 It is believed that appearance and attitude during New Year's sets the tone for
 the rest of the year. Children and unmarried friends, as well as close relatives
 are given lai see, little red envelopes with crisp one dollar bills inserted, 
for good fortune. The family begins by greeting their relatives from door
 to door and then their neighbours.



The last day of the two-week long celebration ends with the Lantern Festival,
 a traditional Chinese festival that falls on the 15th of the first month of the
 Chinese New Year. This festival is also a Chinese Valentine's day. 
Young folks celebrate the festival with their lovers by spending a beautiful and 
romantic evening together. Lanterns are lit everywhere and people go
 out to meet their friends and lovers. 
A celebration with lots of singing and dancing.

Some Chinese symbols

Want to see the full zodiac calender  then click below

Credits
Some images obtained from China the beautiful also
Chinese New Year, Gold horse coin from Gold Dragons
Information picked up from researching Chinese customs, new year and year of the horse.
Music MP3 "Eve of New Year's" courtesy of  The Internet Chinese Music Archive
converted to a wav by ourselves for your listening enjoyment of this url.