Chinese New Year, marks the beginning of a new year on the lunar calendar. The date of the Chinese New Year varies each year and it usually falls somewhere between January 21 to February 20.
This 2024, Chinese New Year falls on February 10, 2024, and it is one of the most important festivals widely celebrated not only in China but also in many other East Asian countries and among Chinese communities around the world.
Each year is associated with one of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs, and for 2024, it’s the year of the dragon.
Now, this is the confusing part: If I was born in January 2000, which Chinese Zodiac am I?
This is for the January babies out there who were born before the Chinese New Year and are still confused about which Chinese Zodiac they fall on.
If you were born before the Chinese New Year, you fall into the Chinese Zodiac from the previous year. If I was born on January 6, 2000, I would be a rabbit (1999) and not a dragon (2000). Why? Because I was born before the Chinese New Year was celebrated.
To calculate your zodiac sign, simply pinpoint the date when the Chinese New Year occurred in the year of your birth and then identify whether your birthday falls before or after it.
If you’re not familiar, here are the 12 Chinese zodiac signs with their corresponding years:
- Rat – 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
- Ox – 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
- Tiger – 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
- Rabbit – 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
- Dragon – 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
- Snake – 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
- Horse – 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
- Goat – 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027
- Monkey – 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028
- Rooster – 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029
- Dog – 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030
- Pig – 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031
