The legend goes that Buddha asked the Rat to invite all the animals to a banquet. Twelve of them turned up and, to reward them, Buddha named the years after them giving the Rat pride of place as the first in the cycle. People born under this sign are intelligent, observant and imaginative, with excellent self-control. The Rat is closely tied to the family and home. Under this sign are those born between following dates (dd/mm/yy): 24/1/1936-10/2/1937, 10/2/1948-28/1/1949, 28/1/1960-14/2/1961, 15/2/1972-2/2/1973, 2/2/1984-19/2/1985, 19/2/1996-6/2/1997, 7/2/2008-25/1/2009