Goga Mason's video explains the Chinese Year of the Wood Snake

The Chinese New Year began on January 29, 2025, celebrating the Year of the Wood Snake, with festivities culminating on February 12 during the Lantern Festival. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the Chinese lunisolar calendar is based on lunar and solar cycles. The zodiac follows a 12-year cycle of animals, each associated with one of five elements (wood, earth, water, fire, metal), creating a 60-year cycle. The Wood Snake symbolizes renewal, transformation, spirituality, and wisdom. Fascinated by this symbol, video maker Goga Mason created a stop-motion animation exploring its meanings, also referencing pre-cinema devices like the phenakistiscope. The video features music by Alessandro Fiorin Damiani. Mason previously made animations for the Wood Dragon and Water Tiger. She describes her love for the Chinese horoscope as making real life a fairy tale populated by symbolic animals. The article was written by Valerio Veneruso for Artribune.