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Chinese Calendar and New Year
As everyone knows, the Chinese have their own calendar which has been in use for thousands of years.
Based on a 12-year cycle with each year paired with a particular animal, the calendar attaches considerable importance to the year of one's birth, and the year in which projects or events are undertaken.
Below are the twelve animals and their years. The word for the Chinese new year in Chinese is 春节 (Chūnjié), and because the calendar is lunar, the actual date of the start of a year varies.
The dates for the next few years are given below.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Years |
| 牛 | niú | ox | 1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 |
| 虎 | hǔ | tiger | 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 |
| 兔 | tù | rabbit/hare | 1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 |
| 龙 | lóng | dragon | 1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 |
| 蛇 | shé | snake | 1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 |
| 马 | mă | horse | 1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014 |
| 羊 | yáng | ram | 1907, 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 |
| 猴 | hóu | monkey | 1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 |
| 鸡 | jī | cockerel | 1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017 |
| 犬 | quăn | dog | 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018 |
| 猪 | zhū | pig | 1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019 |
| 鼠 | shǔ | rat | 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 |
The dates for the start of Chinese New Year during the current cycle are as follows.
| Animal | Date | |
| Ox | February 7, 1997 | January 26, 2009 |
| Tiger | January 28, 1998 | February 14, 2010 |
| Rabbit | February 16, 1999 | February 3, 2011 |
| Dragon | February 5, 2000 | January 23, 2012 |
| Snake | January 24, 2001 | February 10, 2013 |
| Horse | February 12, 2002 | January 31, 2014 |
| Goat | February 1, 2003 | February 19, 2015 |
| Monkey | January 22, 2004 | February 8, 2016 |
| Rooster | February 9, 2005 | January 28, 2017 |
| Dog | January 29, 2006 | February 16, 2018 |
| Boar | February 18, 2007 | February 5, 2019 |
| Rat | February 19, 1996 | February 7, 2008 |
Also important is how to say happy new year in Chinese. Here are the standard phrases.
• 新年好 [xīnniánhăo] Happy New Year
• 年三十 [nián sānshí] New Year’s Eve
• 年初一 [nián chū yī] New Year’s Day
Celebrations for Chinese New Year involve a lot of fun. First, there are firecrackers 鞭炮 (biānpào), set off in small and large quantities, often at parades or other parties.
Then there is 压岁钱 (yāsuìqián), money given to kids as a New Year's gift. Everyone in China tries to return home to be with family and old friends, and households hang on either side of their door strips of red paper with short phrases wishing for health, happiness, and prosperity, written vertically in the traditional way.
Next, parties and food. Noodles at midnight are particularly important, as they supposedly ensure a long life. And there are the 拜年 (bàinián), a visit on New Year's to wish someone, usually 亲朋好友 (qīnpénghăoyŏu), good friends and dear relatives, a happy New Year.
Remember, Chinese New Year is now a world-wide event, celebrated in major cities in any country with a significant Chinese population. It is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar, and celebrations involve fireworks, parades, performances, and feasts of extraordinary scale and scope.