Happy new year!
Chinese new year, of course. In 2026 it falls on 17 February. It is the Year of the Horse.
Specifically, the year of the Fire Horse (there’s an element that goes with the sign).
It is considered inauspicious to marry girls born in a Fire Horse year, especially in Japan, because they’re supposedly headstrong and difficult if not actually dangerous.
The belief had a measurable social effect in Japan in 1966, the most recent Fire Horse year before 2026. Birth rates dropped sharply, as some families tried to avoid having daughters born that year. There were reports of delayed marriages or concern about the marriage prospects of girls born in 1966. Researchers studying Japanese demographics have documented this dip clearly in national statistics.
Japan because of a specific legend.
The superstition seems to have been strongly reinforced by the story of Yaoya Oshichi, a real 17th-century girl in Edo (Tokyo) who became famous in popular literature and theatre. According to the story, Oshichi fell in love with a young man she met while her family was sheltering in a temple after a fire. Wanting to see him again, she set another fire hoping her family would have to return to the temple. She was caught and executed (arson was a capital crime).
Illustration by Grok, pull quotes by ChatGPT. Weee! I’m outsourcing my brain to AI.
p.s. Yes, Jesse Jackson has popped his clogs – new Dead Pool Friday.
February 17, 2026 — 6:32 pm
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