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Chinese New Year 1959
Sunday, 8 February 1959. It opened the Year of the Earth Pig, 己亥, which ran until 27 January 1960.
- New Year's Eve7 February 1959
- New Year's Day8 February 1959
- Lantern Festival22 February 1959
- Animal and elementEarth Pig 土猪, Yin
- Year ends27 January 1960; the next new year is 28 January 1960
What the Pig year carries
The Pig
Generous, easy-going and sincere. The Pig closes the cycle with abundance; it is the sign of enjoying what has been earned.
A pig under a roof is the character 家, home: a household was counted complete when it kept one.
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, 己亥, returns once every sixty years; the last Earth Pig year was 1899, the next is 2019.
The 1959 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 1959 only.
| Day | Date in 1959 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 31 January 1959 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 7 February 1959, Saturday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 8 February 1959, Sunday | The Year of the Pig begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 9 February 1959 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 12 February 1959 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 22 February 1959, 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 1959
1959 is an Earth Pig year, 己亥, the 36th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1899 and comes again in 2019; the previous Pig year was 1947, the next is 1971. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 平地木.
New Year's Day fell on a Sunday, so the reunion dinner on 7 February 1959 landed on a Saturday evening. The festival landed on 8 February in the Western calendar, near the middle of its range.
Born in 1959?
Between 8 February 1959 and 27 January 1960 you are an Earth Pig.
Anyone born from 8 February 1959 to 27 January 1960 is an Earth Pig (己亥) and turns 67 in 2026. Generous, easy-going and sincere. The Pig closes the cycle with abundance; it is the sign of enjoying what has been earned. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.
Born in January or early February 1959, before the 8 February 1959 new year? Then the previous animal, the Dog, 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 Pig comes round again) are 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031, 2043, 2055; the next one is 2031. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Pig best are the Rabbit, the Goat and the Tiger: 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.
- 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
- 195818 February 1958, Earth Dog
- 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
- 19652 February 1965, Wood Snake
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 1959?
Sunday, 8 February 1959. New Year's Eve was 7 February 1959, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 22 February 1959.
What animal is 1959 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Pig. From 8 February 1959 to 27 January 1960 it was the year of the Earth Pig (己亥). Before 8 February 1959, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Dog.
How old is someone born in 1959?
Someone born in the Year of the Pig 1959 turns 67 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031, 2043.
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 Pig 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 Pig 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.