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Chinese New Year 1943
Friday, 5 February 1943. It opened the Year of the Water Goat, 癸未, which ran until 24 January 1944.
- New Year's Eve4 February 1943
- New Year's Day5 February 1943
- Lantern Festival19 February 1943
- Animal and elementWater Goat 水羊, Yin
- Year ends24 January 1944; the next new year is 25 January 1944
What the Goat year carries
The Goat
Kind, creative and calm. The Goat is the artist of the cycle, drawn to beauty and to taking care of people.
The character 羊 sits inside 美, the character for beauty, and 善, the character for kindness.
Water 水
Water years are associated with adaptability and depth: rivers finding their way. Water years favour adaptability: plans that bend, conversations that flow, patience with the long way round.
The pairing of stem and branch, 癸未, returns once every sixty years; the last Water Goat year was 1883, the next is 2003.
The 1943 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 1943 only.
| Day | Date in 1943 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 28 January 1943 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 4 February 1943, Thursday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 5 February 1943, Friday | The Year of the Goat begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 6 February 1943 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 9 February 1943 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 19 February 1943, Friday | 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 1943
1943 is a Water Goat year, 癸未, the 20th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1883 and comes again in 2003; the previous Goat year was 1931, the next is 1955. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 杨柳木.
New Year's Day fell on a Friday; the reunion dinner was the Thursday evening before. The festival landed on 5 February in the Western calendar, near the middle of its range.
Born in 1943?
Between 5 February 1943 and 24 January 1944 you are a Water Goat.
Anyone born from 5 February 1943 to 24 January 1944 is a Water Goat (癸未) and turns 83 in 2026. Kind, creative and calm. The Goat is the artist of the cycle, drawn to beauty and to taking care of people. Water years favour adaptability: plans that bend, conversations that flow, patience with the long way round.
Born in January or early February 1943, before the 5 February 1943 new year? Then the previous animal, the Horse, 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 Goat comes round again) are 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027, 2039, 2051; the next one is 2027. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Goat best are the Rabbit, the Pig and the Horse: 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.
- 193711 February 1937, Fire Ox
- 193831 January 1938, Earth Tiger
- 193919 February 1939, Earth Rabbit
- 19408 February 1940, Metal Dragon
- 194127 January 1941, Metal Snake
- 194215 February 1942, Water Horse
- 194425 January 1944, Wood Monkey
- 194513 February 1945, Wood Rooster
- 19462 February 1946, Fire Dog
- 194722 January 1947, Fire Pig
- 194810 February 1948, Earth Rat
- 194929 January 1949, Earth Ox
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 1943?
Friday, 5 February 1943. New Year's Eve was 4 February 1943, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 19 February 1943.
What animal is 1943 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Goat. From 5 February 1943 to 24 January 1944 it was the year of the Water Goat (癸未). Before 5 February 1943, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Horse.
How old is someone born in 1943?
Someone born in the Year of the Goat 1943 turns 83 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027, 2039.
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 Goat 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 Goat 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.