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Chinese New Year 2023
Sunday, 22 January 2023. It opened the Year of the Water Rabbit, 癸卯, which ran until 9 February 2024.
- New Year's Eve21 January 2023
- New Year's Day22 January 2023
- Lantern Festival5 February 2023
- Animal and elementWater Rabbit 水兔, Yin
- Year ends9 February 2024; the next new year is 10 February 2024
What the Rabbit year carries
The Rabbit
Gentle, tactful and perceptive. The Rabbit prefers harmony to confrontation and tends to be the one everyone confides in.
The Jade Rabbit lives on the moon, pounding the elixir of life under the osmanthus tree; look for it at Mid-Autumn.
Water 水
Water years are associated with adaptability and depth: rivers finding their way. Water years favour adaptability: plans that bend, conversations that flow, patience with the long way round.
The pairing of stem and branch, 癸卯, returns once every sixty years; the last Water Rabbit year was 1963, the next is 2083.
The 2023 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2023 only.
| Day | Date in 2023 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 14 January 2023 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 21 January 2023, Saturday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 22 January 2023, Sunday | The Year of the Rabbit begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 23 January 2023 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 26 January 2023 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 5 February 2023, Sunday | 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 2023
2023 is a Water Rabbit year, 癸卯, the 40th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1963 and comes again in 2083; the previous Rabbit year was 2011, the next is 2035. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 金箔金.
New Year's Day fell on a Sunday, so the reunion dinner on 21 January 2023 landed on a Saturday evening. The festival landed on 22 January in the Western calendar, one of the earlier dates it can take.
Born in 2023?
Between 22 January 2023 and 9 February 2024 you are a Water Rabbit.
Anyone born from 22 January 2023 to 9 February 2024 is a Water Rabbit (癸卯) and turns 3 in 2026. Gentle, tactful and perceptive. The Rabbit prefers harmony to confrontation and tends to be the one everyone confides in. Water years favour adaptability: plans that bend, conversations that flow, patience with the long way round.
Born in January or early February 2023, before the 22 January 2023 new year? Then the previous animal, the Tiger, 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 Rabbit comes round again) are 2035, 2047, 2059; the next one is 2035. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Rabbit best are the Goat, the Pig and the Dog: 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.
- 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
- 20221 February 2022, Water Tiger
- 202410 February 2024, Wood Dragon
- 202529 January 2025, Wood Snake
- 202617 February 2026, Fire Horse
- 20276 February 2027, Fire Goat
- 202826 January 2028, Earth Monkey
- 202913 February 2029, Earth Rooster
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 2023?
Sunday, 22 January 2023. New Year's Eve was 21 January 2023, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 5 February 2023.
What animal is 2023 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Rabbit. From 22 January 2023 to 9 February 2024 it was the year of the Water Rabbit (癸卯). Before 22 January 2023, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Tiger.
How old is someone born in 2023?
Someone born in the Year of the Rabbit 2023 turns 3 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 2035, 2047.
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 Rabbit 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 Rabbit 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.