Cathay Ink › Chinese New Year › 2019
Chinese New Year 2019
Tuesday, 5 February 2019. It opened the Year of the Earth Pig, 己亥, which ran until 24 January 2020.
- New Year's Eve4 February 2019
- New Year's Day5 February 2019
- Lantern Festival19 February 2019
- Animal and elementEarth Pig 土猪, Yin
- Year ends24 January 2020; the next new year is 25 January 2020
What the Pig year carries
The Pig
Generous, easy-going and sincere. The Pig closes the cycle with abundance; it is the sign of enjoying what has been earned.
A pig under a roof is the character 家, home: a household was counted complete when it kept one.
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, 己亥, returns once every sixty years; the last Earth Pig year was 1959, the next is 2079.
The 2019 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2019 only.
| Day | Date in 2019 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 28 January 2019 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 4 February 2019, Monday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 5 February 2019, Tuesday | The Year of the Pig begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 6 February 2019 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 9 February 2019 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 19 February 2019, Tuesday | 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 2019
2019 is an Earth Pig year, 己亥, the 36th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1959 and comes again in 2079; the previous Pig year was 2007, the next is 2031. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 平地木.
New Year's Day fell on a Tuesday; the reunion dinner was the Monday evening before. The festival landed on 5 February in the Western calendar, near the middle of its range.
Born in 2019?
Between 5 February 2019 and 24 January 2020 you are an Earth Pig.
Anyone born from 5 February 2019 to 24 January 2020 is an Earth Pig (己亥) and turns 7 in 2026. Generous, easy-going and sincere. The Pig closes the cycle with abundance; it is the sign of enjoying what has been earned. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.
Born in January or early February 2019, before the 5 February 2019 new year? Then the previous animal, the Dog, 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 Pig comes round again) are 2031, 2043, 2055; the next one is 2031. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Pig best are the Rabbit, the Goat and the Tiger: 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.
- 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
- 201816 February 2018, Earth Dog
- 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
- 202529 January 2025, Wood Snake
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 2019?
Tuesday, 5 February 2019. New Year's Eve was 4 February 2019, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 19 February 2019.
What animal is 2019 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Pig. From 5 February 2019 to 24 January 2020 it was the year of the Earth Pig (己亥). Before 5 February 2019, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Dog.
How old is someone born in 2019?
Someone born in the Year of the Pig 2019 turns 7 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 2031, 2043.
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 Pig 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 Pig 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.