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Chinese New Year 2032
Wednesday, 11 February 2032. It opens the Year of the Water Rat, 壬子, which runs until 30 January 2033.
- New Year's Eve10 February 2032
- New Year's Day11 February 2032
- Lantern Festival25 February 2032
- Animal and elementWater Rat 水鼠, Yang
- Year ends30 January 2033; the next new year is 31 January 2033
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.
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, 壬子, returns once every sixty years; the last Water Rat year was 1972, the next is 2092.
The 2032 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2032 only.
| Day | Date in 2032 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 4 February 2032 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 10 February 2032, Tuesday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 11 February 2032, Wednesday | The Year of the Rat begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 12 February 2032 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 15 February 2032 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 25 February 2032, 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 2032
2032 is a Water Rat year, 壬子, the 49th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1972 and comes again in 2092; the previous Rat year was 2020, the next is 2044. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 桑柘木.
New Year's Day falls on a Wednesday; the reunion dinner is the Tuesday evening before. The festival lands on 11 February in the Western calendar, near the middle of its range.
The Rat opens the twelve-year cycle, and 壬子 opens a sixty-year one twice over in memory: 1912, when the new Republic adopted the Western calendar and the lunar new year soon became 春节, the Spring Festival, to tell it apart from 1 January; and 1972, when Richard Nixon's visit to Beijing in the first week of the Water Rat year reopened China to the United States.
A child born between 11 February 2032 and 30 January 2033 is a Water 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. A baby born in January 2032 before the new year is still a Pig.
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
- 20303 February 2030, Metal Dog
- 203123 January 2031, Metal Pig
- 203331 January 2033, Water Ox
- 203419 February 2034, Wood Tiger
- 20358 February 2035, Wood Rabbit
Questions
When is Chinese New Year 2032?
Wednesday, 11 February 2032. New Year's Eve is 10 February 2032, and the Lantern Festival that closes the celebrations is 25 February 2032.
What animal is 2032 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Rat. From 11 February 2032 to 30 January 2033 it is the year of the Water Rat (壬子). Before 11 February 2032, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Pig.
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.