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Chinese New Year 1958
Tuesday, 18 February 1958. It opened the Year of the Earth Dog, 戊戌, which ran until 7 February 1959.
- New Year's Eve17 February 1958
- New Year's Day18 February 1958
- Lantern Festival4 March 1958
- Animal and elementEarth Dog 土狗, Yang
- Year ends7 February 1959; the next new year is 8 February 1959
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.
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, 戊戌, returns once every sixty years; the last Earth Dog year was 1898, the next is 2018.
The 1958 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 1958 only.
| Day | Date in 1958 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 11 February 1958 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 17 February 1958, Monday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 18 February 1958, Tuesday | The Year of the Dog begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 19 February 1958 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 22 February 1958 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 4 March 1958, 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 1958
1958 is an Earth Dog year, 戊戌, the 35th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1898 and comes again in 2018; the previous Dog year was 1946, the next is 1970. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 平地木.
New Year's Day fell on a Tuesday; the reunion dinner was the Monday evening before. The festival landed on 18 February in the Western calendar, close to the latest it can fall.
Born in 1958?
Between 18 February 1958 and 7 February 1959 you are an Earth Dog.
Anyone born from 18 February 1958 to 7 February 1959 is an Earth Dog (戊戌) and turns 68 in 2026. Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.
Born in January or early February 1958, before the 18 February 1958 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 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.
- 195227 January 1952, Water Dragon
- 195314 February 1953, Water Snake
- 19543 February 1954, Wood Horse
- 195524 January 1955, Wood Goat
- 195612 February 1956, Fire Monkey
- 195731 January 1957, Fire Rooster
- 19598 February 1959, Earth Pig
- 196028 January 1960, Metal Rat
- 196115 February 1961, Metal Ox
- 19625 February 1962, Water Tiger
- 196325 January 1963, Water Rabbit
- 196413 February 1964, Wood Dragon
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 1958?
Tuesday, 18 February 1958. New Year's Eve was 17 February 1958, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 4 March 1958.
What animal is 1958 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Dog. From 18 February 1958 to 7 February 1959 it was the year of the Earth Dog (戊戌). Before 18 February 1958, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Rooster.
How old is someone born in 1958?
Someone born in the Year of the Dog 1958 turns 68 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 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.