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Chinese New Year 1944
Tuesday, 25 January 1944. It opened the Year of the Wood Monkey, 甲申, which ran until 12 February 1945.
- New Year's Eve24 January 1944
- New Year's Day25 January 1944
- Lantern Festival8 February 1944
- Animal and elementWood Monkey 木猴, Yang
- Year ends12 February 1945; the next new year is 13 February 1945
What the Monkey year carries
The Monkey
Clever, playful and inventive. The Monkey solves problems sideways and keeps everyone laughing while it does.
Sun Wukong, the Monkey King of Journey to the West, is the most loved character in Chinese literature.
Wood 木
Wood years are associated with growth and flexibility: spring, bamboo, new shoots. Wood years favour growth and beginnings: planting, building, the first steps of long projects.
The pairing of stem and branch, 甲申, returns once every sixty years; the last Wood Monkey year was 1884, the next is 2004.
The 1944 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 1944 only.
| Day | Date in 1944 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 18 January 1944 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 24 January 1944, Monday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 25 January 1944, Tuesday | The Year of the Monkey begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 26 January 1944 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 29 January 1944 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 8 February 1944, Tuesday | 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 1944
1944 is a Wood Monkey year, 甲申, the 21th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1884 and comes again in 2004; the previous Monkey year was 1932, the next is 1956. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 泉中水.
New Year's Day fell on a Tuesday; the reunion dinner was the Monday evening before. The festival landed on 25 January in the Western calendar, one of the earlier dates it can take.
Born in 1944?
Between 25 January 1944 and 12 February 1945 you are a Wood Monkey.
Anyone born from 25 January 1944 to 12 February 1945 is a Wood Monkey (甲申) and turns 82 in 2026. Clever, playful and inventive. The Monkey solves problems sideways and keeps everyone laughing while it does. Wood years favour growth and beginnings: planting, building, the first steps of long projects.
Born in January or early February 1944, before the 25 January 1944 new year? Then the previous animal, the Goat, 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 Monkey comes round again) are 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028, 2040, 2052; the next one is 2028. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Monkey best are the Rat, the Dragon and the Snake: 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.
- 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
- 19435 February 1943, Water Goat
- 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
- 195017 February 1950, Metal Tiger
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 1944?
Tuesday, 25 January 1944. New Year's Eve was 24 January 1944, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 8 February 1944.
What animal is 1944 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Monkey. From 25 January 1944 to 12 February 1945 it was the year of the Wood Monkey (甲申). Before 25 January 1944, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Goat.
How old is someone born in 1944?
Someone born in the Year of the Monkey 1944 turns 82 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028, 2040.
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 Monkey 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 Monkey 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.