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Chinese New Year 2050
Sunday, 23 January 2050. It opens the Year of the Metal Horse, 庚午, which runs until 10 February 2051.
- New Year's Eve22 January 2050
- New Year's Day23 January 2050
- Lantern Festival6 February 2050
- Animal and elementMetal Horse 金马, Yang
- Year ends10 February 2051; the next new year is 11 February 2051
What the Horse year carries
The Horse
Energetic, independent and straightforward. The Horse loves open space and company in equal measure, and is happiest in motion.
马到成功, "success as soon as the horse arrives", is the wish written on Horse-year greetings.
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, 庚午, returns once every sixty years; the last Metal Horse year was 1990, the next is 2110.
The 2050 festival calendar
Fifteen days from the eve to the first full moon; the dates below are for 2050 only.
| Day | Date in 2050 | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Little New Year 小年 | 16 January 2050 | The Kitchen God is sent off with sweets; the house cleaning begins. |
| New Year's Eve 除夕 | 22 January 2050, Saturday | Reunion dinner, red couplets on the door, staying up to see the year in. |
| New Year's Day 初一 | 23 January 2050, Sunday | The Year of the Horse begins; red envelopes, visits in order of seniority, no sweeping. |
| Day 2 初二 | 24 January 2050 | Married daughters visit their parents. |
| Day 5 初五 | 27 January 2050 | Shops reopen and the God of Wealth is welcomed with firecrackers. |
| Lantern Festival 元宵 | 6 February 2050, 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 2050
2050 is a Metal Horse year, 庚午, the 7th of the sixty stem-and-branch pairs. The same pairing last fell in 1990 and comes again in 2110; the previous Horse year was 2038, the next is 2062. Its 纳音 "sound" in the old almanacs is 路旁土.
New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, so the reunion dinner on 22 January 2050 lands on a Saturday evening. The festival lands on 23 January in the Western calendar, one of the earlier dates it can take.
A child born between 23 January 2050 and 10 February 2051 is a Metal Horse: Energetic, independent and straightforward. The Horse loves open space and company in equal measure, and is happiest in motion. A baby born in January 2050 before the new year is still a Snake.
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.
Questions
When is Chinese New Year 2050?
Sunday, 23 January 2050. New Year's Eve is 22 January 2050, and the Lantern Festival that closes the celebrations is 6 February 2050.
What animal is 2050 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Horse. From 23 January 2050 to 10 February 2051 it is the year of the Metal Horse (庚午). Before 23 January 2050, the year still belongs to the previous animal, the Snake.
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 Horse 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 Horse 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.