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Chinese New Year 1946
Saturday, 2 February 1946. It opened the Year of the Fire Dog, 丙戌, which ran until 21 January 1947.
- New Year's Eve1 February 1946
- New Year's Day2 February 1946
- Lantern Festival16 February 1946
- Animal and elementFire Dog 火狗, Yang
- Year ends21 January 1947; the next new year is 22 January 1947
What the Dog year carries
The Dog
Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right.
Dogs guard the home in both the real and the spirit world; stone and paper dogs stand at old gates.
Fire 火
Fire years are associated with warmth and drive: summer, lanterns, the hearth. Fire years favour energy and visibility: bold moves, warm company, the spotlight.
The pairing of stem and branch, 丙戌, returns once every sixty years; the last Fire Dog year was 1886, the next is 2006.
The 1946 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 1946 only.
| Day | Date in 1946 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 25 January 1946 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 1 February 1946, Friday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 2 February 1946, Saturday | The Year of the Dog begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 3 February 1946 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 6 February 1946 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 16 February 1946, Saturday | 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 1946
1946 is a Fire Dog year, 丙戌, the 23th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1886 and comes again in 2006; the previous Dog year was 1934, the next is 1958. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 屋上土.
New Year's Day fell on a Saturday, so the reunion dinner on 1 February 1946 landed on a Friday evening. The festival landed on 2 February in the Western calendar, near the middle of its range.
Born in 1946?
Between 2 February 1946 and 21 January 1947 you are a Fire Dog.
Anyone born from 2 February 1946 to 21 January 1947 is a Fire Dog (丙戌) and turns 80 in 2026. Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right. Fire years favour energy and visibility: bold moves, warm company, the spotlight.
Born in January or early February 1946, before the 2 February 1946 new year? Then the previous animal, the Rooster, 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 Dog comes round again) are 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, 2042, 2054; the next one is 2030. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Dog best are the Tiger, the Horse and the Rabbit: 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.
- 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
- 194722 January 1947, Fire Pig
- 194810 February 1948, Earth Rat
- 194929 January 1949, Earth Ox
- 195017 February 1950, Metal Tiger
- 19516 February 1951, Metal Rabbit
- 195227 January 1952, Water Dragon
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 1946?
Saturday, 2 February 1946. New Year's Eve was 1 February 1946, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 16 February 1946.
What animal is 1946 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Dog. From 2 February 1946 to 21 January 1947 it was the year of the Fire Dog (丙戌). Before 2 February 1946, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Rooster.
How old is someone born in 1946?
Someone born in the Year of the Dog 1946 turns 80 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, 2042.
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 Dog 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 Dog 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.