Find the Chinese New Year date for any supported year, compare nearby Lunar New Year dates, and review the zodiac animal, element, yin-yang polarity.
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Chinese New Year date, zodiac, and planning worksheet Find the Lunar New Year date for a Gregorian year, check the zodiac animal and element, see the zodiac-year boundary, and compare nearby years without opening a separate Chinese zodiac chart.
Quick years
What this calculator shows
Chinese New Year usually falls between January 21 and February 20 because it is tied to the lunisolar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar.
The result pairs the festival date with the 12-animal zodiac cycle, the five-element stem cycle, and the yin or yang polarity for the selected year.
Cycle guide
The zodiac animal repeats every 12 years.
The Heavenly Stem element repeats every 10 years.
Each stem is also marked as yin or yang.
Result
Chinese New Year and zodiac details
2026 begins on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 and is the Fire Horse year (Yang).
Chinese New Year
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Zodiac animal
🐎 Horse
Element
Fire
Yin / Yang
Yang
Next Chinese New Year from today
Saturday, February 6, 2027
That starts the 2027 Lunar New Year. 261 days away.
Chinese New Year result sheet
Use this as a quick reference for the selected Gregorian year.
Festival date
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
New Year's Eve
Monday, February 16, 2026
Lantern Festival
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Zodiac year
🐎 Year of the Horse
Element and polarity
Fire · Yang
Heavenly Stem pillar
Fire Horse
Zodiac year runs until
Friday, February 5, 2027
Usual Gregorian window
January 21 to February 20
Next Chinese New Year from today
Saturday, February 6, 2027 · 261 days away
Nearby Chinese New Year dates
Compare the selected year with the surrounding years to see how the Lunar New Year date, zodiac animal, element, and zodiac-year boundary shift.
2025: Wood Snake
Starts: Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Runs until: Monday, February 16, 2026
2026: Fire Horse
Starts: Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Runs until: Friday, February 5, 2027
2027: Fire Goat
Starts: Saturday, February 6, 2027
Runs until: Tuesday, January 25, 2028
2028: Earth Monkey
Starts: Wednesday, January 26, 2028
Runs until: Monday, February 12, 2029
2029: Earth Rooster
Starts: Tuesday, February 13, 2029
Runs until: Saturday, February 2, 2030
Year
Chinese New Year
Zodiac
Element / polarity
Zodiac year ends
2025
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Snake
Wood / Yin
Monday, February 16, 2026
2026
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Horse
Fire / Yang
Friday, February 5, 2027
2027
Saturday, February 6, 2027
Goat
Fire / Yin
Tuesday, January 25, 2028
2028
Wednesday, January 26, 2028
Monkey
Earth / Yang
Monday, February 12, 2029
2029
Tuesday, February 13, 2029
Rooster
Earth / Yin
Saturday, February 2, 2030
How to read the cycle
The 12-animal cycle and the 10-stem element cycle overlap, which is why a full stem-and-branch combination takes 60 years to repeat.
Chinese New Year calculator guide: Lunar New Year date, zodiac animal, element
Use this Chinese New Year calculator to find the Gregorian Lunar New Year date for any supported year, then identify the zodiac animal, five-element pairing, yin or yang polarity, New Year's Eve, Lantern Festival, and the next Chinese New Year from today. It is built for the practical search intent behind queries such as when is Chinese New Year, Chinese New Year date calculator, Lunar New Year calculator, and Chinese zodiac year calculator.
What this Chinese New Year calculator shows
The calculator answers the fast calendar question first: when does Chinese New Year begin in the selected Gregorian year? It then adds the details users usually look up next: the zodiac animal, the five-element stem, yin or yang polarity, the end of that zodiac year, New Year's Eve, and Lantern Festival.
That makes the page more useful than a simple holiday-date lookup. Someone planning travel, a school worksheet, event copy, family greetings, or a zodiac reference can see the date and the cycle context in the same result sheet.
How the date is determined
Chinese New Year follows a lunisolar calendar, so it does not stay on one Gregorian date. In modern lookup terms it usually falls between January 21 and February 20. This calculator uses a verified lookup table for supported Gregorian years rather than trying to recreate every astronomical rule in the browser.
The lookup-table approach is deliberate. It keeps the user-facing result stable, testable, and easy to audit while still giving the civil Gregorian date most users need for planning. The page is therefore a date calculator and cycle reference, not a full Chinese lunar calendar converter.
Chinese New Year date = verified lunisolar-to-Gregorian lookup for the selected year
The implementation uses stored civil dates for supported years so the displayed date remains deterministic.
Lantern Festival = Chinese New Year + 14 days
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is shown as a practical closing marker for the festival period.
Zodiac year end = next Chinese New Year - 1 day
The zodiac year runs from one Lunar New Year through the day before the next one.
Chinese zodiac animal, element, and yin-yang cycle
The familiar zodiac animal repeats every 12 years. The Heavenly Stem cycle repeats every 10 years and carries the five elements in yin and yang pairs. When the two cycles overlap, the full stem-and-branch pattern repeats every 60 years.
This distinction matters for users searching Chinese zodiac calculator or Chinese zodiac year calculator. Two years can share the same animal while still having different element and polarity combinations. The calculator therefore shows both the public-facing animal label and the deeper element/polarity detail.
zodiac animal cycle = 12 years
Rat through Pig repeat across the animal cycle.
Heavenly Stem cycle = 10 years
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water repeat in yin and yang pairs.
full cycle = 60 years
The 12-animal and 10-stem cycles align every 60 years.
Why the nearby-year comparison matters
Competitor pages often show a long date table, but the most useful comparison is usually closer to the selected year. If you are planning a recurring event, checking whether a birthdate falls before or after the zodiac boundary, or preparing educational material, nearby rows are faster than scanning a century-long table.
The calculator now shows the selected year with the surrounding years, including the festival start date, animal, element, polarity, and zodiac-year end. That makes it easier to spot how quickly the Gregorian date shifts and where the next zodiac boundary lands.
Next Chinese New Year from today versus selected-year lookup
There are two different questions that often get mixed together. One is historical or future lookup: what was the Chinese New Year date in a selected year? The other is current planning: when is the next Chinese New Year from today?
The result sheet separates those questions. The selected-year rows describe the chosen Gregorian year, while the highlighted upcoming row counts to the next Lunar New Year from the current date. That prevents an old selected year from producing a misleading countdown.
New Year's Eve, Lantern Festival, and festival span
Chinese New Year is often searched as a single date, but practical planning usually touches more than the first day. New Year's Eve can matter for family gatherings and travel timing. Lantern Festival, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, is a useful closing marker for the celebration period.
This calculator is not a complete customs guide, but adding those span dates makes the result more actionable. It helps users move from a single date lookup to a compact Lunar New Year planning worksheet.
If you enter a recent Dragon year, the calculator returns the Lunar New Year start date, the Wood Dragon pillar, and the day before the next Lunar New Year as the zodiac-year end. It also shows New Year's Eve and Lantern Festival so the result is more useful for event planning than a single headline date.
If you then compare nearby years, the animal and element cycle changes in a predictable sequence while the Gregorian date moves between late January and February. That comparison is useful for checking zodiac-boundary birthdays and for seeing why Chinese New Year cannot be treated as a fixed-date holiday.
Scope and limitations
This page is a civil-date lookup and zodiac-cycle reference. It does not convert complete lunar birthdates, identify auspicious dates, calculate the full Chinese calendar month-by-month, or model every regional observance difference across China, East Asia, and diaspora communities.
The page also avoids turning zodiac output into personality claims. Zodiac systems carry cultural meaning, but this calculator's strongest role is calendar lookup, boundary checking, and cycle reference. Use cultural or local sources when customs, public holidays, or community observances matter.
Chinese New Year usually falls between January 21 and February 20 on the Gregorian calendar. Enter the year you care about to see the exact date for that supported year.
Why does Chinese New Year change every year?
It follows a lunisolar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar. Because lunar months do not line up exactly with the solar year, the Gregorian date shifts from year to year.
Is Chinese New Year the same as Lunar New Year?
Chinese New Year is one Lunar New Year tradition. Lunar New Year can also refer more broadly to related New Year observances in other cultures and regions. This calculator is focused on Chinese New Year dates and the Chinese zodiac cycle.
What zodiac animal is a Chinese New Year?
The calculator shows the zodiac animal for the selected year, such as Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, or Pig. It also shows the element and yin-yang polarity because the animal alone is not the full cycle detail.
Does the Chinese zodiac year start on January 1?
No. The zodiac year changes at Chinese New Year, not on January 1. Birthdates in January or early February can belong to the previous zodiac year if they fall before that year's Lunar New Year.
What are the five Chinese zodiac elements?
The five elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. In the Heavenly Stem cycle, each element appears in a yin and yang pair before the cycle moves on.
Why can the same zodiac animal have different elements?
The animal cycle repeats every 12 years, while the element-and-polarity stem cycle repeats every 10 years. The full combination takes 60 years to repeat, so the same animal can appear with different element details.
What is Lantern Festival in the result sheet?
Lantern Festival is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The calculator shows it as Chinese New Year plus 14 days, which gives a practical closing marker for the festival period.
Can this calculator convert a full lunar birthday?
No. It looks up Chinese New Year dates and zodiac-year boundaries. It does not convert full lunar dates or identify all lunar calendar holidays.
Why does the page show nearby years?
Nearby years make it easier to compare date shifts, zodiac changes, and zodiac-year end dates without scanning a long table. That is especially useful for birthday boundary checks and event planning.
