The Zodiac of approaching Chinese New Year in 2014 is Horse. To welcome Year of Horse, Yick Name (益南) School Lion Dance Team of Sabah introduces Horses into their lion dance, this is the first in Malaysia. The Horses made their debut in Lion, Dragon and Unicorn Festival yesterday.

Horse is a favorite animal in Chinese culture because it symbolizes strength, energetic, intelligence and outgoing. Horse is commonly seen in Chinese literature and painting.

Red means Auspicious (Good Luck) and Yellow means Prosperity (Wealth), so they have red and yellow horses.

The horses are very well-received and everyone wants to take photo with the horses.

You can watch the video below to see how the Horses dance:

In Chinese, we call it Rui-Ma (瑞马). I’m not sure what’s its name in English, “Horse Lion”?

Due to inflation, Malaysians are having a tough year ahead. With the spirit of horse, we will be able to endure any challenges. Happy Year of Horse to you!

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo