When does the Chinese zodiac year start?
The Chinese zodiac year starts at Lunar New Year, not January 1. Lunar New Year falls on a new moon between January 21 and February 20, so the date moves every year. If you were born in January or February, check the date: a birthday before the new year belongs to the previous animal.
A moving new year
The Chinese calendar is lunisolar. Its months begin at the new moon and last 29 or 30 days, but it also keeps step with the Sun by adding a leap month in some years. The new year is the first day of the first month, so it moves around the Western calendar, always between late January and late February. 1,2
The rule that fixes it is astronomical. The eleventh month always contains the December solstice, and New Year falls on the second new moon after that, or the third if a leap month intervenes. Calendar offices work it out in Beijing time.
New year, or the start of spring?
There is a second candidate for the start of the zodiac year. The 24 solar terms divide the Sun's year into steps of 15°, and Spring Commences (lichun) falls around February 4. Many fortune-tellers change the animal at Spring Commences; the Hong Kong Observatory, which compiles Hong Kong's calendars, changes it at Lunar New Year. In 2018 the two were twelve days apart, February 4 against February 16. 2
So for a birthday between the two dates, sources can disagree about your animal. Popular zodiac lookups, and the machine, follow Lunar New Year.
How the machine works it out
Calculated facts only, worked out the same way the machine does it.
- The machine follows the Chinese calendar rules, worked out in Beijing time (UTC+8):
- Month 11 is the lunar month that contains the December solstice.
- New Year is the second new moon after month 11 begins, or the third when a leap month falls in between.
- From 1950 to 2030, it fell between January 21 and February 20.
- Recent dates: 2006, January 29; 2007, February 18; 2008, February 7; 2009, January 26.
Where the idea comes from
Era by era, with sources. More in the Reading Room.
- ClassicalHan dynastyThe Records of the Grand Historian defines the first day of the first month as the start of the year, with Spring Commences as the start of the seasons. 2
- Modern2018The Hong Kong Observatory explains its practice after Spring Commences and Lunar New Year fall twelve days apart. 2
- Today2026Lunar New Year falls on 17 February, opening the Fire Horse year. 3
Common misconceptions
“The Chinese year starts on January 1.” For the zodiac it starts at Lunar New Year, sometimes seven weeks later. 2
“Lunar New Year is a purely lunar date.” It depends on the solstice as well as the Moon; the calendar is lunisolar. 1
Questions people ask
I was born in late January. Which animal am I?
Check that year's Lunar New Year date. Before it, you belong to the previous animal.
Why do some sites give a different animal for early February?
Some switch at Spring Commences, around February 4, instead of Lunar New Year. 2
Why does it fall between January 21 and February 20?
Because it is the second new moon after the December solstice, which lands in that window.
Sources
- Lunar New Year: dates, animals and the zodiac, Royal Museums Greenwich. Read on .
- What year is it today?, Hong Kong Observatory. Read on .
- Lunar New Year 2026: the Year of the Horse, The University of Sydney. Read on .