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Chinese New Year 2020
Saturday, 25 January 2020. It opened the Year of the Metal Rat, 庚子, which ran until 11 February 2021.
- New Year's Eve24 January 2020
- New Year's Day25 January 2020
- Lantern Festival8 February 2020
- Animal and elementMetal Rat 金鼠, Yang
- Year ends11 February 2021; the next new year is 12 February 2021
What the Rat year carries
The Rat
Quick, resourceful and sociable. The Rat opens the cycle: it is the sign of beginnings, of noticing the opening before anyone else and slipping through it.
In the race that fixed the order of the zodiac, the Rat rode across the river on the Ox's back and leapt ahead at the bank to finish first.
Metal 金
Metal years are associated with resolve and clarity: the edge of a blade, the ring of a bell. Metal years favour decisiveness and finishing: clean cuts, clear words, things brought to a conclusion.
The pairing of stem and branch, 庚子, returns once every sixty years; the last Metal Rat year was 1960, the next is 2080.
The 2020 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2020 only.
| Day | Date in 2020 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 17 January 2020 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 24 January 2020, Friday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 25 January 2020, Saturday | The Year of the Rat begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 26 January 2020 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 29 January 2020 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 8 February 2020, Saturday | 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 2020
2020 is a Metal Rat year, 庚子, the 37th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1960 and comes again in 2080; the previous Rat year was 2008, the next is 2032. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 壁上土.
New Year's Day fell on a Saturday, so the reunion dinner on 24 January 2020 landed on a Friday evening. The festival landed on 25 January in the Western calendar, one of the earlier dates it can take.
Born in 2020?
Between 25 January 2020 and 11 February 2021 you are a Metal Rat.
Anyone born from 25 January 2020 to 11 February 2021 is a Metal Rat (庚子) and turns 6 in 2026. Quick, resourceful and sociable. The Rat opens the cycle: it is the sign of beginnings, of noticing the opening before anyone else and slipping through it. Metal years favour decisiveness and finishing: clean cuts, clear words, things brought to a conclusion.
Born in January or early February 2020, before the 25 January 2020 new year? Then the previous animal, the Pig, 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 Rat comes round again) are 2032, 2044, 2056; the next one is 2032. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Rat best are the Dragon, the Monkey and the Ox: 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.
- 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
- 20195 February 2019, Earth Pig
- 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
- 202617 February 2026, Fire Horse
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 2020?
Saturday, 25 January 2020. New Year's Eve was 24 January 2020, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 8 February 2020.
What animal is 2020 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Rat. From 25 January 2020 to 11 February 2021 it was the year of the Metal Rat (庚子). Before 25 January 2020, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Pig.
How old is someone born in 2020?
Someone born in the Year of the Rat 2020 turns 6 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 2032, 2044.
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 Rat 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 Rat 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.