Chinoiserie?

Today I encountered something I'm sure has been around for a long time. It's just that I never really noticed it. The Canadian Zodiac (apparently a creation of one Charles Alexander Moffat) assigns an animal to each year in a twelve-year solar cycle. It was deliberately crafted with relation to the Chinese Zodiac, which is based on a lunar calendar and a 60-year cycle of elements and animals. Let me show you the years assigned to the various animals and you can draw your own conclusions. The following list shows [Canadian (Years Assigned) Chinese]. Note that the Chinese Lunar New Year starts in late January or early February, so there is some overlap; a person born in early January 1989 would be a Coyote/Dragon, not Coyote/Snake.

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Canadian/Chinese Year Assignments

Muskrat    (1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996)       Rat
Caribou    (1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997)        Ox
Gray Wolf  (1914, 1925, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998)     Tiger
Hare       (1915, 1926, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999)    Rabbit
Polar Bear (1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000)    Dragon
Coyote     (1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001)     Snake
Moose      (1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002)     Horse
Grizzly    (1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003)      Goat
Fox        (1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004)    Monkey
Loon       (1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005)   Rooster
Beaver     (1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006)       Dog
Goose      (1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007)       Pig

You should refer to the original article to see what traits Moffat attributed to his totemic animals. Heh. I'm a grizzly goat.