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Chinese New Year 2015
Thursday, 19 February 2015. It opened the Year of the Wood Goat, 乙未, which ran until 7 February 2016.
- New Year's Eve18 February 2015
- New Year's Day19 February 2015
- Lantern Festival5 March 2015
- Animal and elementWood Goat 木羊, Yin
- Year ends7 February 2016; the next new year is 8 February 2016
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.
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, 乙未, returns once every sixty years; the last Wood Goat year was 1955, the next is 2075.
The 2015 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2015 only.
| Day | Date in 2015 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 11 February 2015 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 18 February 2015, Wednesday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 19 February 2015, Thursday | The Year of the Goat begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 20 February 2015 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 23 February 2015 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 5 March 2015, Thursday | 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 2015
2015 is a Wood Goat year, 乙未, the 32th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1955 and comes again in 2075; the previous Goat year was 2003, the next is 2027. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 沙中金.
New Year's Day fell on a Thursday; the reunion dinner was the Wednesday evening before. The festival landed on 19 February in the Western calendar, close to the latest it can fall.
Born in 2015?
Between 19 February 2015 and 7 February 2016 you are a Wood Goat.
Anyone born from 19 February 2015 to 7 February 2016 is a Wood Goat (乙未) and turns 11 in 2026. Kind, creative and calm. The Goat is the artist of the cycle, drawn to beauty and to taking care of people. Wood years favour growth and beginnings: planting, building, the first steps of long projects.
Born in January or early February 2015, before the 19 February 2015 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 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.
- 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
- 201431 January 2014, Wood Horse
- 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
- 202112 February 2021, Metal Ox
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 2015?
Thursday, 19 February 2015. New Year's Eve was 18 February 2015, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 5 March 2015.
What animal is 2015 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Goat. From 19 February 2015 to 7 February 2016 it was the year of the Wood Goat (乙未). Before 19 February 2015, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Horse.
How old is someone born in 2015?
Someone born in the Year of the Goat 2015 turns 11 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 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.