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Chinese New Year 2006
Sunday, 29 January 2006. It opened the Year of the Fire Dog, 丙戌, which ran until 17 February 2007.
- New Year's Eve28 January 2006
- New Year's Day29 January 2006
- Lantern Festival12 February 2006
- Animal and elementFire Dog 火狗, Yang
- Year ends17 February 2007; the next new year is 18 February 2007
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 1946, the next is 2066.
The 2006 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2006 only.
| Day | Date in 2006 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 22 January 2006 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 28 January 2006, Saturday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 29 January 2006, Sunday | The Year of the Dog begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 30 January 2006 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 2 February 2006 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 12 February 2006, 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 2006
2006 is a Fire Dog year, 丙戌, the 23th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1946 and comes again in 2066; the previous Dog year was 1994, the next is 2018. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 屋上土.
New Year's Day fell on a Sunday, so the reunion dinner on 28 January 2006 landed on a Saturday evening. The festival landed on 29 January in the Western calendar, near the middle of its range.
Born in 2006?
Between 29 January 2006 and 17 February 2007 you are a Fire Dog.
Anyone born from 29 January 2006 to 17 February 2007 is a Fire Dog (丙戌) and turns 20 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 2006, before the 29 January 2006 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 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.
- 20005 February 2000, Metal Dragon
- 200124 January 2001, Metal Snake
- 200212 February 2002, Water Horse
- 20031 February 2003, Water Goat
- 200422 January 2004, Wood Monkey
- 20059 February 2005, Wood Rooster
- 200718 February 2007, Fire Pig
- 20087 February 2008, Earth Rat
- 200926 January 2009, Earth Ox
- 201014 February 2010, Metal Tiger
- 20113 February 2011, Metal Rabbit
- 201223 January 2012, Water Dragon
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 2006?
Sunday, 29 January 2006. New Year's Eve was 28 January 2006, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 12 February 2006.
What animal is 2006 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Dog. From 29 January 2006 to 17 February 2007 it was the year of the Fire Dog (丙戌). Before 29 January 2006, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Rooster.
How old is someone born in 2006?
Someone born in the Year of the Dog 2006 turns 20 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 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.