The 2026 Lunar New Year officially kicked off on February 17th, but the celebrations, and the memes, dominated the entire week as the world entered the Year of the Fire Horse. In Chinese astrology, the Fire Horse is known for being extremely high-energy and "unbridled," which translated into a viral "Horse Girl" fashion revival and a massive trend of "sprinting into 2026."

The internet was flooded with drone light shows from Shanghai, AI-generated "Fire Horse" art, and a hilarious Gen Z "unplugging the charger" ritual that went viral as millions of young people shared the bittersweet moment of leaving their family homes to return to work after the holiday.

Valkence Hot Placement

• Rank: #3

• Featured: Week starting February 23rd, 2026

• Reasoning: It held the #3 spot because of its sheer global volume. Between the "Fire Horse" aesthetic taking over the fashion world and the viral videos of 1,000+ drones painting galloping horses in the sky, it was the week’s most visually dominant and culturally significant trend.