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Chinese New Year 2028
Wednesday, 26 January 2028. It opens the Year of the Earth Monkey, 戊申, which runs until 12 February 2029.
- New Year's Eve25 January 2028
- New Year's Day26 January 2028
- Lantern Festival9 February 2028
- Animal and elementEarth Monkey 土猴, Yang
- Year ends12 February 2029; the next new year is 13 February 2029
What the Monkey year carries
The Monkey
Clever, playful and inventive. The Monkey solves problems sideways and keeps everyone laughing while it does.
Sun Wukong, the Monkey King of Journey to the West, is the most loved character in Chinese literature.
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, 戊申, returns once every sixty years; the last Earth Monkey year was 1968, the next is 2088.
The 2028 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2028 only.
| Day | Date in 2028 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 19 January 2028 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 25 January 2028, Tuesday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 26 January 2028, Wednesday | The Year of the Monkey begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 27 January 2028 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 30 January 2028 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 9 February 2028, 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 2028
2028 is an Earth Monkey year, 戊申, the 45th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1968 and comes again in 2088; the previous Monkey year was 2016, the next is 2040. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 大驿土.
New Year's Day falls on a Wednesday; the reunion dinner is the Tuesday evening before. The festival lands on 26 January in the Western calendar, one of the earlier dates it can take.
The Monkey is the cycle's trickster, and 戊申 has a heavy history: in the last-but-one 戊申 year, 1908, the Guangxu Emperor and the Empress Dowager Cixi died within a day of each other, bringing the last emperor, Puyi, to the throne at two years old. The 1968 Earth Monkey year is the one most people alive remember.
A child born between 26 January 2028 and 12 February 2029 is an Earth Monkey: Clever, playful and inventive. The Monkey solves problems sideways and keeps everyone laughing while it does. A baby born in January 2028 before the new year is still a Goat.
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
- 202529 January 2025, Wood Snake
- 202617 February 2026, Fire Horse
- 20276 February 2027, Fire Goat
- 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 is Chinese New Year 2028?
Wednesday, 26 January 2028. New Year's Eve is 25 January 2028, and the Lantern Festival that closes the celebrations is 9 February 2028.
What animal is 2028 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Monkey. From 26 January 2028 to 12 February 2029 it is the year of the Earth Monkey (戊申). Before 26 January 2028, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Goat.
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 Monkey 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 Monkey 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.