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Chinese New Year 2039
Monday, 24 January 2039. It opens the Year of the Earth Goat, 己未, which runs until 11 February 2040.
- New Year's Eve23 January 2039
- New Year's Day24 January 2039
- Lantern Festival7 February 2039
- Animal and elementEarth Goat 土羊, Yin
- Year ends11 February 2040; the next new year is 12 February 2040
What the Goat year carries
The Goat
Kind, creative and calm. The Goat is the artist of the cycle, drawn to beauty and to taking care of people.
The character 羊 sits inside 美, the character for beauty, and 善, the character for kindness.
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, 己未, returns once every sixty years; the last Earth Goat year was 1979, the next is 2099.
The 2039 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2039 only.
| Day | Date in 2039 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 17 January 2039 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 23 January 2039, Sunday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 24 January 2039, Monday | The Year of the Goat begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 25 January 2039 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 28 January 2039 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 7 February 2039, Monday | 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 2039
2039 is an Earth Goat year, 己未, the 56th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1979 and comes again in 2099; the previous Goat year was 2027, the next is 2051. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 天上火.
New Year's Day falls on a Monday; the reunion dinner is the Sunday evening before. The festival lands on 24 January in the Western calendar, one of the earlier dates it can take.
A child born between 24 January 2039 and 11 February 2040 is an Earth Goat: Kind, creative and calm. The Goat is the artist of the cycle, drawn to beauty and to taking care of people. A baby born in January 2039 before the new year is still a Horse.
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.
- 203331 January 2033, Water Ox
- 203419 February 2034, Wood Tiger
- 20358 February 2035, Wood Rabbit
- 203628 January 2036, Fire Dragon
- 203715 February 2037, Fire Snake
- 20384 February 2038, Earth Horse
- 204012 February 2040, Metal Monkey
- 20411 February 2041, Metal Rooster
- 204222 January 2042, Water Dog
- 204310 February 2043, Water Pig
- 204430 January 2044, Wood Rat
- 204517 February 2045, Wood Ox
Questions
When is Chinese New Year 2039?
Monday, 24 January 2039. New Year's Eve is 23 January 2039, and the Lantern Festival that closes the celebrations is 7 February 2039.
What animal is 2039 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Goat. From 24 January 2039 to 11 February 2040 it is the year of the Earth Goat (己未). Before 24 January 2039, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Horse.
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 Goat 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 Goat 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.