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Chinese New Year 2018
Friday, 16 February 2018. It opened the Year of the Earth Dog, 戊戌, which ran until 4 February 2019.
- New Year's Eve15 February 2018
- New Year's Day16 February 2018
- Lantern Festival2 March 2018
- Animal and elementEarth Dog 土狗, Yang
- Year ends4 February 2019; the next new year is 5 February 2019
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.
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, 戊戌, returns once every sixty years; the last Earth Dog year was 1958, the next is 2078.
The 2018 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2018 only.
| Day | Date in 2018 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 8 February 2018 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 15 February 2018, Thursday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 16 February 2018, Friday | The Year of the Dog begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 17 February 2018 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 20 February 2018 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 2 March 2018, 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 2018
2018 is an Earth Dog year, 戊戌, the 35th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1958 and comes again in 2078; the previous Dog year was 2006, the next is 2030. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 平地木.
New Year's Day fell on a Friday; the reunion dinner was the Thursday evening before. The festival landed on 16 February in the Western calendar, close to the latest it can fall.
Born in 2018?
Between 16 February 2018 and 4 February 2019 you are an Earth Dog.
Anyone born from 16 February 2018 to 4 February 2019 is an Earth Dog (戊戌) and turns 8 in 2026. Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.
Born in January or early February 2018, before the 16 February 2018 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 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.
- 201223 January 2012, Water Dragon
- 201310 February 2013, Water Snake
- 201431 January 2014, Wood Horse
- 201519 February 2015, Wood Goat
- 20168 February 2016, Fire Monkey
- 201728 January 2017, Fire Rooster
- 20195 February 2019, Earth Pig
- 202025 January 2020, Metal Rat
- 202112 February 2021, Metal Ox
- 20221 February 2022, Water Tiger
- 202322 January 2023, Water Rabbit
- 202410 February 2024, Wood Dragon
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 2018?
Friday, 16 February 2018. New Year's Eve was 15 February 2018, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 2 March 2018.
What animal is 2018 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Dog. From 16 February 2018 to 4 February 2019 it was the year of the Earth Dog (戊戌). Before 16 February 2018, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Rooster.
How old is someone born in 2018?
Someone born in the Year of the Dog 2018 turns 8 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 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.