How now brown cow: February 12 starts 牛年 niúnián, year of the ox (or cow or bull). (The previous year was rat; the next, tiger.)
牛年 is the second year in the 12-year cycle. It corresponds to 丑 chǒu, the second of the 12 地支 dìzhī earthly branches (子丑寅卯辰巳午未申酉戌亥).
The Chinese word 牛 niú (ox/cow/bull) is gender-neutral. (Compare 母牛 mǔniú cow and 公牛 gōngniú bull.) The 1913 Webster Unabridged Dictionary defines ox as follows: "The male of bovine quadrupeds, especially the domestic animal when castrated and grown to its full size, or nearly so. The word is also applied, as a general name, to any species of bovine animals, male and female."
Years of the ox include: 2033, 2021, 2009, 1997, 1985, 1973, 1961, 1949, 1937, 1925, 1913, 1901.
See the whole 12-year cycle!