Zodiac 30° along the ecliptic is nominally designated as the zodiac sign Aries, which no longer falls within the proximity of the constellation Aries since the effect of precession is to move the vernal point through the backdrop of visible constellations (it is currently located near the end of the constellation Pisces, having been within that constellation since the 2nd century AD). The subsequent 30° of the ecliptic is nominally designated the zodiac sign Taurus, and so on through the twelve signs of the zodiac so that each occupies 1/12th (30°) of the zodiac's great circle. Zodiac signs have never been
Chinese zodiac normally refers specifically to a sheep in the Korean language (where a native Korean word 염소 "yeomso" is used to mean "Goat"), although the Chinese source of the loanword "yang" may refer to any goat-antelope. The Japanese zodiac includes the "Sheep" ("hitsuji") instead of the "Goat" (which would be "yagi"), and the "Wild boar" ("inoshishi", "i") instead of the "Pig" ("buta"). The Japanese have, since 1873, celebrated the beginning of the new year on January 1 as per the Gregorian calendar. The Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to the Chinese zodiac except the second animal is the "Water Buffalo" instead