Each Chinese lunar year has a Chinese zodiac sign animal. The Chinese zodiac year's stsarting date is a little different from the Gregorian year. It starts from Chinese New Year. The Chinese zodiac years chart below is provided to help you find out the exact starting and ending dates of the Chinese zodiac years. (This is especially useful for The Chinese zodiac, known as Sheng Xiao or Shu Xiang, features 12 animal signs in this order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. 2025 is the Year of the Snake according to Chinese zodiac, starting from the 2025 Chinese New Year on Jan. 29th and lasting to 2026 Lunar New Year's Eve on Feb. 16. 2026 is the Year of the Horse. The Chinese zodiac includes 12 animal signs, in order they are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, marks the transition from one animal to the next—2024 is the year of the Dragon, which began on February 10th, 2024, and ends on February 24th, 2024. Find your year, animal, dates and element (metal, water, wood, fire, earth). Every Chinese zodiac year from 1900–2031, full table and broken down by each zodiac. Chinese New Year The Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) usually falls during 21 January and February 20, if your birthday is during this period in Gregorian date, you may belong to the zodiac sign of the last year. In the following table, the years’ starting and ending dates are clearly shown which help you determine your animal sign correctly. Find Your Chinese Zodiac Sign. Chinese zodiac years are based on the lunar calendar, each zodiac animal's year comes around every 12 years. Everyone has his/her zodiac sign based on the birth year in the lunar calendar. Use the following Chinese zodiac calculator to find your zodiac sign, element, and lucky things. The seventh day of the Lunar New Year (February 4, 2025) is said to be when the Chinese mother goddess, Nuwa, created humanity. Thus, it’s called renri/jan jat (the people’s birthday). Most famously, each Chinese New Year brings in a new Chinese animal zodiac as the focus for that year. Moreover, the imagery of the Chinese zodiac is prevalent in various aspects of art, design, and popular culture, serving as a unique motif in paintings, fashion, literature, and entertainment. Beyond its traditional history, the Chinese zodiac What are the animals of the zodiac? Each year honors an animal based on the Chinese zodiac. The circle of 12 animals — the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig — measure the cycles of time. Chinese zodiac, or shengxiao (/shnng-sshyao/ 'born resembling'), is represented by 12 zodiac animals. In order, they are the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Chinese zodiac years begin/end at Chinese New Year (in January/February). Each year in the repeating zodiac cycle of 12 years is Chinese New Year and the Zodiacs. Each of these zodiac animals governs a whole year, which starts at Chinese New Year according to the lunar calendar. This usually corresponds to January or February in the western calendar. When the current year has the same zodiac animal as the year you were born, you are said to be in Ben Ming Nian. Each sign is named after an animal, and each animal has its own unique characteristics. Do you know why the 12 Chinese zodiac animals are in the sequence above? The following story reveals legendary reasons, and some of the characteristics of the 12 animals. The story is widespread (and widely varying) among Chinese. Though it is made up, it The Chinese zodiac is a system based on a 12-year cycle, with each year represented by an animal sign. These animals are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. With Chinese New Year approaching, some may wonder why 2025 year is the Year of the Snake. Learn which Lunar New Year animal represents your birth year. 2025, 2026, 2027 Chinese New Year Dates, New Moon Time, and Chinese Zodiac Animal Names from 1900 to 2050 The lunar calendar is also associated with 12 animal signs in Chinese zodiac, so every 12 years is regarded as a cycle. 2025 is a Year of the Snake, while 2026 turns to be a Year of the Horse. Chinese New Year Calendar (1930 - 2030) Every year, the Lunar New Year marks the transition from one animal to another. The Year of the Dragon, which began on Feb. 10, 2024, ended Tuesday to begin the Year of the Snake. Below are listed the Chinese zodiac 2026 ruling animals and elements for each month of the year.* According to the Chinese New Year 2026 calendar, February 17, 2026 is the Lunar New Year celebration day, which marks the start of the Year of the Fire Horse 2026 (the Horse being the ruling animal of the year 2026) and the first day of the Month Use these Chinese New Year animals to teach children about the story behind the tradition. There's a cut-out for each animal, an explanation of the story, an image of the zodiac and more. You could use these in your teaching to bring the story to life and engage your children. Chinese New Year: Guess the Animal of the Chinese Zodiac PowerPoint The Chinese calendar is based on a 60 year cycle of alternating 12 year animal cycles that are paired with one of the five elements (Photo: IANS). First introduced in the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), the Chinese calendar uses a 12-year cycle of animal signs to represent each Chinese year.
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