2023 in Russia, following the Chinese tradition, is correlated with the symbol of the rabbit. Within the framework of this article, such an approach is disputed. The author consistently comes to the conclusion that in the Chinese zodiac cycle, 2023 is the year of the hare. Chinese culture with the symbol of 2023 - the hare - has a long history, and the ancestors of modern inhabitants of the Celestial Empire inevitably projected various emotional factors on hares, forming a kind of Chinese "hare culture". As a system of linguistic and cultural symbols, the Chinese zodiac hare is often endowed with various psychological, cultural or religious connotations. With the development of history, the symbolic meaning of the hare has become more and more colorful, but its linguistic and cultural studies are still insufficient, and the translation of the name of the symbol under discussion is still controversial. The author comes to the conclusion that the translation should be culturally conditioned. The meaning of such an important symbol as the symbol of the year should be manifested in myths and legends, the names of famous artifacts. Such ideas allowed the author to come to the logical conclusion that in 2023, according to the Chinese calendar, it was the year of the hare, not the rabbit, that came around the world. Ancient people in their messages to modern humanity left numerous evidences that they highly appreciated the properties of the hare to run fast and be flexible. Therefore, the coming year should bring rapid changes to all of humanity and help to show flexibility in the most difficult circumstances.