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The Chinese Zodiac

For a huge population of the world it's actually the lunar calendar which decides when to celebrate the beginning of the new year - also known as Chinese New Year, Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year.

This lunar calendar aligns with the cycles of the moon, and follows a series of 60 combinations of the '10 Heavenly Stems' and '12 Earthly Branches' before starting all over again.

Though you might not have heard of the 'Earthly Branches' or even the lunar calendar, you might have heard of a special group of twelve animals which represent the 12 earthly branches - often called animals of the Chinese Zodiac, or 十二生肖， shí’èr shēngxiào.