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Chinese New Year 2014
Friday, 31 January 2014. It opened the Year of the Wood Horse, 甲午, which ran until 18 February 2015.
- New Year's Eve30 January 2014
- New Year's Day31 January 2014
- Lantern Festival14 February 2014
- Animal and elementWood Horse 木马, Yang
- Year ends18 February 2015; the next new year is 19 February 2015
What the Horse year carries
The Horse
Energetic, independent and straightforward. The Horse loves open space and company in equal measure, and is happiest in motion.
马到成功, "success as soon as the horse arrives", is the wish written on Horse-year greetings.
Wood 木
Wood years are associated with growth and flexibility: spring, bamboo, new shoots. Wood years favour growth and beginnings: planting, building, the first steps of long projects.
The pairing of stem and branch, 甲午, returns once every sixty years; the last Wood Horse year was 1954, the next is 2074.
The 2014 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2014 only.
| Day | Date in 2014 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 23 January 2014 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 30 January 2014, Thursday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 31 January 2014, Friday | The Year of the Horse begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 1 February 2014 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 4 February 2014 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 14 February 2014, Friday | 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 2014
2014 is a Wood Horse year, 甲午, the 31th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1954 and comes again in 2074; the previous Horse year was 2002, the next is 2026. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 沙中金.
New Year's Day fell on a Friday; the reunion dinner was the Thursday evening before. The festival landed on 31 January in the Western calendar, near the middle of its range.
Born in 2014?
Between 31 January 2014 and 18 February 2015 you are a Wood Horse.
Anyone born from 31 January 2014 to 18 February 2015 is a Wood Horse (甲午) and turns 12 in 2026. Energetic, independent and straightforward. The Horse loves open space and company in equal measure, and is happiest in motion. Wood years favour growth and beginnings: planting, building, the first steps of long projects.
Born in January or early February 2014, before the 31 January 2014 new year? Then the previous animal, the Snake, 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 Horse comes round again) are 2026, 2038, 2050, 2062; the next one is 2026. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Horse best are the Tiger, the Dog and the Goat: 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.
- 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
- 201310 February 2013, Water Snake
- 201519 February 2015, Wood Goat
- 20168 February 2016, Fire Monkey
- 201728 January 2017, Fire Rooster
- 201816 February 2018, Earth Dog
- 20195 February 2019, Earth Pig
- 202025 January 2020, Metal Rat
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 2014?
Friday, 31 January 2014. New Year's Eve was 30 January 2014, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 14 February 2014.
What animal is 2014 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Horse. From 31 January 2014 to 18 February 2015 it was the year of the Wood Horse (甲午). Before 31 January 2014, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Snake.
How old is someone born in 2014?
Someone born in the Year of the Horse 2014 turns 12 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 2026, 2038, 2050.
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 Horse 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 Horse 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.