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Chinese New Year 2003
Saturday, 1 February 2003. It opened the Year of the Water Goat, 癸未, which ran until 21 January 2004.
- New Year's Eve31 January 2003
- New Year's Day1 February 2003
- Lantern Festival15 February 2003
- Animal and elementWater Goat 水羊, Yin
- Year ends21 January 2004; the next new year is 22 January 2004
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 1943, the next is 2063.
The 2003 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2003 only.
| Day | Date in 2003 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 25 January 2003 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 31 January 2003, Friday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 1 February 2003, Saturday | The Year of the Goat begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 2 February 2003 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 5 February 2003 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 15 February 2003, 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 2003
2003 is a Water Goat year, 癸未, the 20th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1943 and comes again in 2063; the previous Goat year was 1991, the next is 2015. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 杨柳木.
New Year's Day fell on a Saturday, so the reunion dinner on 31 January 2003 landed on a Friday evening. The festival landed on 1 February in the Western calendar, near the middle of its range.
Born in 2003?
Between 1 February 2003 and 21 January 2004 you are a Water Goat.
Anyone born from 1 February 2003 to 21 January 2004 is a Water Goat (癸未) and turns 23 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 2003, before the 1 February 2003 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 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.
- 19977 February 1997, Fire Ox
- 199828 January 1998, Earth Tiger
- 199916 February 1999, Earth Rabbit
- 20005 February 2000, Metal Dragon
- 200124 January 2001, Metal Snake
- 200212 February 2002, Water Horse
- 200422 January 2004, Wood Monkey
- 20059 February 2005, Wood Rooster
- 200629 January 2006, Fire Dog
- 200718 February 2007, Fire Pig
- 20087 February 2008, Earth Rat
- 200926 January 2009, Earth Ox
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 2003?
Saturday, 1 February 2003. New Year's Eve was 31 January 2003, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 15 February 2003.
What animal is 2003 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Goat. From 1 February 2003 to 21 January 2004 it was the year of the Water Goat (癸未). Before 1 February 2003, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Horse.
How old is someone born in 2003?
Someone born in the Year of the Goat 2003 turns 23 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 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.