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Chinese New Year 2030
Sunday, 3 February 2030. It opens the Year of the Metal Dog, 庚戌, which runs until 22 January 2031.
- New Year's Eve2 February 2030
- New Year's Day3 February 2030
- Lantern Festival17 February 2030
- Animal and elementMetal Dog 金狗, Yang
- Year ends22 January 2031; the next new year is 23 January 2031
What the Dog year carries
The Dog
Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right.
Dogs guard the home in both the real and the spirit world; stone and paper dogs stand at old gates.
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, 庚戌, returns once every sixty years; the last Metal Dog year was 1970, the next is 2090.
The 2030 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2030 only.
| Day | Date in 2030 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 26 January 2030 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 2 February 2030, Saturday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 3 February 2030, Sunday | The Year of the Dog begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 4 February 2030 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 7 February 2030 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 17 February 2030, 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 2030
2030 is a Metal Dog year, 庚戌, the 47th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1970 and comes again in 2090; the previous Dog year was 2018, the next is 2042. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 钗钏金.
New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, so the reunion dinner on 2 February 2030 lands on a Saturday evening. The festival lands on 3 February in the Western calendar, near the middle of its range.
The Dog is the loyal guard of the cycle, and the word for its bark, 旺 (wàng), also means prosperous, which is why dog figures are sold as shop charms. In the previous 庚戌 year, 1970, China put its first satellite, 东方红一号, into orbit on 24 April; the Metal Dog before that was 1910.
A child born between 3 February 2030 and 22 January 2031 is a Metal Dog: Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right. A baby born in January 2030 before the new year is still a Rooster.
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
- 202826 January 2028, Earth Monkey
- 202913 February 2029, Earth Rooster
- 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 2030?
Sunday, 3 February 2030. New Year's Eve is 2 February 2030, and the Lantern Festival that closes the celebrations is 17 February 2030.
What animal is 2030 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Dog. From 3 February 2030 to 22 January 2031 it is the year of the Metal Dog (庚戌). Before 3 February 2030, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Rooster.
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 Dog 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 Dog 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.