Chinese New Year: the date for each year and why your sign may be the previous year's
Chinese New Year falls between January 21 and February 20. If you were born in those weeks, your sign may not be the one the tables say for your year. Here are the dates from 1925 to 2030.
Almost every Chinese zodiac table in circulation says something like «1990: Horse». It's true for most of 1990, but not all of it: the year of the Horse began on January 27, 1990. Someone born on January 20 of that year is a Snake, the sign of 1989.
It's not a minor detail. The sign is the only thing the Chinese zodiac uses to read affinities, and if it's wrong, everything read afterwards is wrong too. That's why in Molino your sign comes from your full date, not from the year number.
Why Chinese New Year doesn't always fall on the same day
The traditional Chinese calendar is lunisolar: the months follow the Moon and the years are adjusted to the Sun. The year begins with a new moon — generally the second after the northern hemisphere's winter solstice — and since the lunar cycle doesn't match the calendar we use, the date shifts from one year to the next.
The result is a fixed window: Chinese New Year always falls between January 21 and February 20. Before that date you're still in the previous year; from that day on, in the new one.
Who needs to check
If you were born between January 1 and February 20, look up your year in the list below. If your birthday is before the date listed, your sign is the previous year's. If you were born from February 21 onward, there's no possible doubt: your sign is your year's.
An example: someone born on February 5, 1986. That year the New Year fell on February 9, so the 1985 year of the Ox was still running. Their sign is Ox, not Tiger, even though any table by year says Tiger.
Chinese New Year dates from 1925 to 2030
Each line says which day that year began in the Chinese calendar and which sign and element correspond to it from that date. It's the same table Molino uses to calculate your sign.
- 1925: January 25 — Wood Ox.
- 1926: February 13 — Fire Tiger.
- 1927: February 2 — Fire Cat.
- 1928: January 23 — Earth Dragon.
- 1929: February 10 — Earth Snake.
- 1930: January 30 — Metal Horse.
- 1931: February 17 — Metal Goat.
- 1932: February 6 — Water Monkey.
- 1933: January 26 — Water Rooster.
- 1934: February 14 — Wood Dog.
- 1935: February 4 — Wood Pig.
- 1936: January 24 — Fire Rat.
- 1937: February 11 — Fire Ox.
- 1938: January 31 — Earth Tiger.
- 1939: February 19 — Earth Cat.
- 1940: February 8 — Metal Dragon.
- 1941: January 27 — Metal Snake.
- 1942: February 15 — Water Horse.
- 1943: February 5 — Water Goat.
- 1944: January 25 — Wood Monkey.
- 1945: February 13 — Wood Rooster.
- 1946: February 2 — Fire Dog.
- 1947: January 22 — Fire Pig.
- 1948: February 10 — Earth Rat.
- 1949: January 29 — Earth Ox.
- 1950: February 17 — Metal Tiger.
- 1951: February 6 — Metal Cat.
- 1952: January 27 — Water Dragon.
- 1953: February 14 — Water Snake.
- 1954: February 3 — Wood Horse.
- 1955: January 24 — Wood Goat.
- 1956: February 12 — Fire Monkey.
- 1957: January 31 — Fire Rooster.
- 1958: February 18 — Earth Dog.
- 1959: February 8 — Earth Pig.
- 1960: January 28 — Metal Rat.
- 1961: February 15 — Metal Ox.
- 1962: February 5 — Water Tiger.
- 1963: January 25 — Water Cat.
- 1964: February 13 — Wood Dragon.
- 1965: February 2 — Wood Snake.
- 1966: January 21 — Fire Horse.
- 1967: February 9 — Fire Goat.
- 1968: January 30 — Earth Monkey.
- 1969: February 17 — Earth Rooster.
- 1970: February 6 — Metal Dog.
- 1971: January 27 — Metal Pig.
- 1972: February 15 — Water Rat.
- 1973: February 3 — Water Ox.
- 1974: January 23 — Wood Tiger.
- 1975: February 11 — Wood Cat.
- 1976: January 31 — Fire Dragon.
- 1977: February 18 — Fire Snake.
- 1978: February 7 — Earth Horse.
- 1979: January 28 — Earth Goat.
- 1980: February 16 — Metal Monkey.
- 1981: February 5 — Metal Rooster.
- 1982: January 25 — Water Dog.
- 1983: February 13 — Water Pig.
- 1984: February 2 — Wood Rat.
- 1985: February 20 — Wood Ox.
- 1986: February 9 — Fire Tiger.
- 1987: January 29 — Fire Cat.
- 1988: February 17 — Earth Dragon.
- 1989: February 6 — Earth Snake.
- 1990: January 27 — Metal Horse.
- 1991: February 15 — Metal Goat.
- 1992: February 4 — Water Monkey.
- 1993: January 23 — Water Rooster.
- 1994: February 10 — Wood Dog.
- 1995: January 31 — Wood Pig.
- 1996: February 19 — Fire Rat.
- 1997: February 7 — Fire Ox.
- 1998: January 28 — Earth Tiger.
- 1999: February 16 — Earth Cat.
- 2000: February 5 — Metal Dragon.
- 2001: January 24 — Metal Snake.
- 2002: February 12 — Water Horse.
- 2003: February 1 — Water Goat.
- 2004: January 22 — Wood Monkey.
- 2005: February 9 — Wood Rooster.
- 2006: January 29 — Fire Dog.
- 2007: February 18 — Fire Pig.
- 2008: February 7 — Earth Rat.
- 2009: January 26 — Earth Ox.
- 2010: February 14 — Metal Tiger.
- 2011: February 3 — Metal Cat.
- 2012: January 23 — Water Dragon.
- 2013: February 10 — Water Snake.
- 2014: January 31 — Wood Horse.
- 2015: February 19 — Wood Goat.
- 2016: February 8 — Fire Monkey.
- 2017: January 28 — Fire Rooster.
- 2018: February 16 — Earth Dog.
- 2019: February 5 — Earth Pig.
- 2020: January 25 — Metal Rat.
- 2021: February 12 — Metal Ox.
- 2022: February 1 — Water Tiger.
- 2023: January 22 — Water Cat.
- 2024: February 10 — Wood Dragon.
- 2025: January 29 — Wood Snake.
- 2026: February 17 — Fire Horse.
- 2027: February 6 — Fire Goat.
- 2028: January 26 — Earth Monkey.
- 2029: February 13 — Earth Rooster.
- 2030: February 3 — Metal Dog.
What about February 4?
You'll find people who say the sign changes around February 4. It's another legitimate convention: Four Pillars astrology (BaZi) counts the year from Li Chun, the beginning of spring in the Chinese solar calendar, which falls on February 3, 4 or 5.
Molino uses the lunar New Year, which is the one that's celebrated and the one most people know as the change of sign. If you were born between those two dates, the two conventions will give you different signs, and it's worth knowing where each one comes from.
Frequently asked questions
I was born on January 21, what sign am I?
It depends on the year. In some years the New Year fell on that very day or earlier, and in others not until February. Look up your year in the list: if your date is the same as or later than the one listed, you're that year's sign; if it's earlier, the previous year's.
Does the time of birth matter?
Only if you were born exactly on the day of Chinese New Year, and even then the difference is a matter of hours. For every other day, the date is enough.
Want to know what YOUR date of birth says?
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