Cathay Ink › Chinese New Year › 2025
Chinese New Year 2025
Wednesday, 29 January 2025. It opened the Year of the Wood Snake, 乙巳, which ran until 16 February 2026.
- New Year's Eve28 January 2025
- New Year's Day29 January 2025
- Lantern Festival12 February 2025
- Animal and elementWood Snake 木蛇, Yin
- Year ends16 February 2026; the next new year is 17 February 2026
What the Snake year carries
The Snake
Thoughtful, elegant and private. The Snake is called the little dragon; it is the sign of wisdom that watches before it speaks.
The White Snake of West Lake, who took human form for love, is one of China's four great folk tales.
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, 乙巳, returns once every sixty years; the last Wood Snake year was 1965, the next is 2085.
The 2025 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2025 only.
| Day | Date in 2025 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 22 January 2025 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 28 January 2025, Tuesday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 29 January 2025, Wednesday | The Year of the Snake begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 30 January 2025 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 2 February 2025 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 12 February 2025, Wednesday | 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 2025
2025 is a Wood Snake year, 乙巳, the 42th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1965 and comes again in 2085; the previous Snake year was 2013, the next is 2037. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 覆灯火.
New Year's Day fell on a Wednesday; the reunion dinner was the Tuesday evening before. The festival landed on 29 January in the Western calendar, near the middle of its range.
The Snake is called the little dragon (小龙), the quiet year that follows the loud one. The last 乙巳 year, 1905, was the year China abolished the imperial examination system after thirteen centuries, a change that reshaped how the educated class was made; its earlier echo, 1965, was a Wood Snake year too.
Born in 2025?
Between 29 January 2025 and 16 February 2026 you are a Wood Snake.
Anyone born from 29 January 2025 to 16 February 2026 is a Wood Snake (乙巳) and turns 1 in 2026. Thoughtful, elegant and private. The Snake is called the little dragon; it is the sign of wisdom that watches before it speaks. Wood years favour growth and beginnings: planting, building, the first steps of long projects.
Born in January or early February 2025, before the 29 January 2025 new year? Then the previous animal, the Dragon, 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 Snake comes round again) are 2037, 2049, 2061; the next one is 2037. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Snake best are the Ox, the Rooster and the Monkey: 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.
- 202410 February 2024, Wood Dragon
- 202617 February 2026, Fire Horse
- 20276 February 2027, Fire Goat
- 202826 January 2028, Earth Monkey
- 202913 February 2029, Earth Rooster
- 20303 February 2030, Metal Dog
- 203123 January 2031, Metal Pig
- 203211 February 2032, Water Rat
- 203331 January 2033, Water Ox
- 203419 February 2034, Wood Tiger
- 20358 February 2035, Wood Rabbit
Questions
When was Chinese New Year 2025?
Wednesday, 29 January 2025. New Year's Eve was 28 January 2025, and the Lantern Festival that closed the celebrations was 12 February 2025.
What animal is 2025 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Snake. From 29 January 2025 to 16 February 2026 it was the year of the Wood Snake (乙巳). Before 29 January 2025, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Dragon.
How old is someone born in 2025?
Someone born in the Year of the Snake 2025 turns 1 in 2026. Their zodiac years (本命年) are 2037, 2049.
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 Snake 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 Snake 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.