Year of the Horse

This year I got many stamps as Christmas presents. Many of them are from countries which I had not in my collection before.

I also got stamps from Liechtenstein.

One sheet is this:

Year of the Horse (issued 11-11-2013)

According to legend Buddha invited the 13 animals of the lunar calendar (including the cat) to a festival. The mouse said to the cat that the festival would be on another day, so she did not come. The animals came in this order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. All animals got a year which was named after the animal.
The year 2014 is the year of the horse (Chinese: 馬 mă). The year starts on 31st January 2014 and ends on 18th February 2015. The people born in the Year of the Horse are said to be intelligent, friendly and optimistic. The animals are also divided in wood, fire, earth, metal and water. This year is the Year of the Woodhorse. The next Year of the Horse is 2026.
Liechtenstein issues stamps on the occasion of the Chinese New Year since 2012 (Year of the Dragon) and all are looking like a traditional Chinese Paper-cut. The stamps are made with modernest laser technology. For the first time the sheet is also shaped.
The traditional Chinese Paper-cut is since 2009 a Intangible Heritage of the UNESCO.

I also got a maximum card:

front side: 



back side: 

The sheet and the maximum card are great addition for my collection of Year of the Horse stamps.