Calendar The PRC uses the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes, but the Chinese lunar calendar is
also important in China. The Chinese Lunar New Year — known as Spring Festival today in China — is the biggest holiday in China, and many festivals are held according to the Chinese lunar
calendar, the longest chronological record in history dating back to 2600 B.C. Like the Gregorian calendar, the Chinese Lunar Calendar is a yearly one, but the start of the lunar year is based on
the cycles of the moon so that New Year Day can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. Each lunar year is associated with one of 12 zodiac animals, and 2004 is the Year of
the Monkey.
The following are the Chinese Lunar New Year dates 2004 -2015:
Monkey |
January 22, 2004 |
Rooster |
February 9, 2005 |
Dog |
January 29, 2006 |
Boar/Pig |
February 18, 2007 |
Rat |
February 7, 2008 |
Ox |
January 26, 2009 |
Tiger |
February 14, 2010 |
Rabbit |
February 3, 2011 |
Dragon |
January 23, 2012 |
Snake |
February 10, 2013 |
Horse |
January 31, 2014 |
Sheep |
February 19, 2015 |
The Chinese Lunar New Year is the longest chronological record in history, dating from 2600BC, when the
Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the zodiac. Like the Western calendar, The Chinese Lunar
Calendar is a yearly one, with the start of the lunar year being based on the cycles of the moon.
Therefore, because of this cyclical dating, the beginning of the year can fall anywhere between late
January and the middle of February. This year it falls on February 12th. A complete cycle takes 60 years
and is made up of five cycles of 12 years each.The Chinese Lunar Calendar names each of the twelve
years after an animal. Legend has it that the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him
before he departed from earth. Only twelve came to bid him farewell and as a reward he named a year
after each one in the order they arrived. The Chinese believe the animal ruling the year in which a person
is born has a profound influence on personality, saying: "This is the animal that hides in your heart."
Rat |
1924 |
1936 |
1948 |
1960 |
1972 |
1984 |
1996 |
Ox
|
1925 |
1937 |
1949 |
1961 |
1973 |
1985 |
1997 |
Tiger
|
1926 |
1938 |
1950 |
1962 |
1974 |
1986 |
1998 |
Rabbit
|
1927 |
1939 |
1951 |
1963 |
1975 |
1987 |
1999 |
Dragon
|
1928 |
1940 |
1952 |
1964 |
1976 |
1988 |
2000 |
Snake
|
1929 |
1941 |
1953 |
1965 |
1977 |
1989 |
2001 |
Horse
|
1930 |
1942 |
1954 |
1966 |
1978 |
1990 |
2002 |
Sheep
|
1931 |
1943 |
1955 |
1967 |
1979 |
1991 |
2003 |
Monkey
|
1932 |
1944 |
1956 |
1968 |
1980 |
1992 |
2004 |
Rooster
|
1933 |
1945 |
1957 |
1969 |
1981 |
1993 |
2005 |
Dog
|
1934 |
1946 |
1958 |
1970 |
1982 |
1994 |
2006 |
Boar
|
1935 |
1947 |
1959 |
1971 |
1983 |
1995 |
2007 |
|