Chinese New Year dates, 1940–2035

Chinese New Year — the first day of the lunar year and the moment the zodiac animal changes — falls between late January and mid-February. Below is the full table this site uses: the Gregorian date of Lunar New Year for every year from 1940 to 2035, with the animal and element each date begins. Dates follow the standard published lunisolar calendar; spot-checks include February 10, 2024, January 29, 2025 and February 17, 2026.

If your birthday sits in January or February, find your year below: born before that year's date, you belong to the previous animal; born on or after it, you belong to the new one. The homepage finder applies this table to your exact date automatically.

Why the date moves

The traditional Chinese calendar is lunisolar: months follow the moon, but a leap month is inserted roughly every three years to keep the year aligned with the seasons. That is why New Year slides around inside a roughly thirty-day window instead of sitting on a fixed date — and why a birth-year chart that ignores the boundary quietly mislabels everyone born in the first weeks of the year.

Frequently asked questions

When is Chinese New Year 2026?

February 17, 2026, which begins the Year of the Fire Horse.

I was born in January 1990. What is my animal?

Chinese New Year 1990 fell on January 27. Births from January 1–26, 1990 belong to the Snake, the 1989 animal; births on or after January 27 are Horses.

How far does this table go?

1940 through 2035. Outside that range the finder falls back to the standard late-January/mid-February approximation and says so on the result.

Zodiac Sign Finder is for entertainment. Astrology is a tradition of stories and symbols, not a science — enjoy your reading the way you'd enjoy a fortune cookie: lightly.