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Chinese New Year 1939
Sunday, 19 February 1939. It opened the Year of the Earth Rabbit, 己卯, which ran until 7 February 1940.
- New Year's Eve18 February 1939
- New Year's Day19 February 1939
- Lantern Festival5 March 1939
- Animal and elementEarth Rabbit 土兔, Yin
- Year ends7 February 1940; the next new year is 8 February 1940
What the Rabbit year carries
The Rabbit
Gentle, tactful and perceptive. The Rabbit prefers harmony to confrontation and tends to be the one everyone confides in.
The Jade Rabbit lives on the moon, pounding the elixir of life under the osmanthus tree; look for it at Mid-Autumn.
Earth 土
Earth years are associated with steadiness and care: harvest, soil, the centre. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.
The pairing of stem and branch, 己卯, returns once every sixty years; the last Earth Rabbit year was 1879, the next is 1999.
The 1939 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 1939 only.
| Day | Date in 1939 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 11 February 1939 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 18 February 1939, Saturday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 19 February 1939, Sunday | The Year of the Rabbit begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 20 February 1939 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 23 February 1939 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 5 March 1939, Sunday | First full moon: lanterns, riddles, sweet rice balls. The season closes. |
In mainland China the public holiday usually runs from the eve for seven or eight days; Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia each keep their own, shorter, holiday. How the days are kept, in more detail: the traditions.
What is particular to 1939
1939 is an Earth Rabbit year, 己卯, the 16th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1879 and comes again in 1999; the previous Rabbit year was 1927, the next is 1951. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 城头土.
New Year's Day fell on a Sunday, so the reunion dinner on 18 February 1939 landed on a Saturday evening. The festival landed on 19 February in the Western calendar, close to the latest it can fall.
Born in 1939?
Between 19 February 1939 and 7 February 1940 you are an Earth Rabbit.
Anyone born from 19 February 1939 to 7 February 1940 is an Earth Rabbit (己卯) and turns 87 in 2026. Gentle, tactful and perceptive. The Rabbit prefers harmony to confrontation and tends to be the one everyone confides in. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.
Born in January or early February 1939, before the 19 February 1939 new year? Then the previous animal, the Tiger, is yours: the zodiac follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January. The zodiac calculator settles it from the exact date.
Your zodiac years (本命年, when the Rabbit comes round again) are 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035, 2047; the next one is 2035. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Rabbit best are the Goat, the Pig and the Dog: the compatibility table has every pair.
Chinese New Year in other years
The second new moon after the winter solstice, so it moves between 21 January and 20 February. Every year from 1924 to 2050.
- 193326 January 1933, Water Rooster
- 193414 February 1934, Wood Dog
- 19354 February 1935, Wood Pig
- 193624 January 1936, Fire Rat
- 193711 February 1937, Fire Ox
- 193831 January 1938, Earth Tiger
- 19408 February 1940, Metal Dragon
- 194127 January 1941, Metal Snake
- 194215 February 1942, Water Horse
- 19435 February 1943, Water Goat
- 194425 January 1944, Wood Monkey
- 194513 February 1945, Wood Rooster
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 1939?
Sunday, 19 February 1939. New Year's Eve was 18 February 1939, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 5 March 1939.
What animal is 1939 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Rabbit. From 19 February 1939 to 7 February 1940 it was the year of the Earth Rabbit (己卯). Before 19 February 1939, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Tiger.
How old is someone born in 1939?
Someone born in the Year of the Rabbit 1939 turns 87 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035, 2047.
Why does the date change every year?
The festival falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice, so it moves between 21 January and 20 February on the Western calendar.
How long does Chinese New Year last?
Fifteen days, from New Year's Day to the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth of the first lunar month. Most people have a week of public holiday in mainland China.
Born in a Rabbit year?
Your animal depends on the exact date, not the calendar year.
Find your animal
Enter your birthday and we count it by the lunar calendar: the animal, its element, your lunar birth date and your next zodiac year.
Chinese zodiac calculatorWant the Rabbit in ink on your wall? The zodiac poster sets the animal above your name and lunar birthday. Giving a Chinese name this new year? Three real names, free.