Chinese New Year is also known as Lunar New Year and is celebrated with the Spring Festival which lasts until the Lantern Festival held on the 15th day. As the lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the Moon, the dates of the Chinese New Year do not align with the same date every year. The months on the Chinese calendar begin with every new moon, when the Moon lies between the Sun and the Earth and is not visible in the night sky. The Chinese / Lunar New Year starts on the new moon nearest the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, sometime between January 21 and February 20. In 2025, Chinese New Year falls on Wednesday 29 January and celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on Wednesday 12 February. 

Each new year is assigned one of twelve Chinese zodiac signs named after an animal which occur in the following order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, or Pig . Each animal sign is also attributed one of five elements - Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water - which describe the interactions between natural phenomena. The five elements combined with the 12 zodiac signs produce a sixty-year cycle. Lunar Year 2025, for example, is the "Wood Snake" -  the "Snake" recurs every 12 years and the "Wood Snake" once every 60 years. Hence, Lunar Year 2037 will celebrate the "Fire Snake", Lunar Year 2049 the "Earth Snake", and so on. One's personality traits, compatibility, career, and fortune are said to be related to the attributes of their zodiac animal.

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Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar

The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar which is based on both the moon's phases and the Earth's orbit around the sun. 

Each month begins with a new moon

Each of the calendar's twelve months begins with a new Moon, when the Moon is not visible in the sky. This occurs when the Moon lies between the Earth and the Sun and the side of the Moon that is in shadow faces Earth.

Two "solar terms" occur each month

The Chinese calendar is divided into 24 periods, known as "solar terms", with two occurring each month. The solar terms are synchronised with the seasons, the climate, and the lifecycles of plants and insects. Known as the Taichu (Grand Inception) calendar, it was first formed in 104 BC during the rule of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to aid agricultural workers.  (Find out more: China highlights: 24 solar terms: URL: https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/the-24-solar-terms.htm)

Chinese New Year / Lunar Year

Chinese zodiac assigns one of 12 animals to each Lunar Year

Each new year is assigned one of twelve Chinese zodiac signs named after an animal which occur in the following order: Rat (shu 鼠), Ox (niu 牛), Tiger (hu 虎), Rabbit (tu 兔), Dragon (long 龍), Snake (she 蛇), Horse (ma 馬), goat (also known as the “sheep" or “ram”) (yang 羊), Monkey (hou 猴), Rooster (ji 雞), Dog (gou 狗) and Pig (zhu 豬). The characteristics of each animal are said to correspond to traits of those born in the new Lunar Year, influencing such things as personality, compatibility in relationships, and suitability of types of careers.

According to differing legends, the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac were selected by winning a race across a river or by attending a banquet. Some say the race/banquet event was organised by the Jade Emperor, whereas other say it was the Buddha. All creatures on Earth were invited to participate and the first twelve animals to cross the race's finish line or attend the banquet earned a place. The order of the lunar calendar follows the arrival of the animals - the rat is the first animal to start the sequence, and the pig is the last of the 12 zodiac animals. After the Lunar Year of the Pig, the twelve-year sequence starts over again with the Year of the Rat. (Source: Britannica: Chinese Zodiac, URL: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chinese-zodiac)

What is your zodiac sign?

Each of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac makes an appearance every 12 years. The following images list birthdates from 1960 onwards. Those born in earlier years can add multiples of 12 to their birthdate to find out their zodiac animal. For example, if you were born in the Lunar New Year 1950 (from 17 Feb 1950 - 5 Feb 1951), add 12 years to 1950 = 1962.  Find the year 1962 under the images below. You were born in the Year of the Tiger!

'Theory of the Five Elements' influences the Lunar Year & zodiac animals

In Chinese philosophy, the 'Theory of the Five Elements' (Wu Xing) conceives the universe as dynamic states, or phases, of constant change. Everything is made up of energy or life forces called "qi" which is formed through the interplay of two opposite qualities - "Yin" (characterised as negative, passive, and feminine) and "Yang" (seen as positive, active, and masculine). The interactions between Yin and the Yang creates five phases of Qi. 

Interactions between natural phenomena organised into five elements

The Five Elements theory describes the interactions and relationships between things by organising all natural phenomena into five groups or patterns in nature. The five elements are: Wood (mu 木), Fire (huo 火), Earth (tu 土), Metal (jin 金), and Water (shui 水). Each element represents an aspect of a dynamic process of change. Wood, for example, is not only the actual wood of a tree, but describes the character, the dynamic state, the elemental force of the element.  

During each Lunar Year, the lifecycle of nature undergoes transformations in five stages which are around 73 days each and traverse the seasons - Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. As each element is linked to a particular season (e.g. Fire = Summer), the characteristics of the Lunar Year's zodiac animal are also influenced during that stage of the Lunar year cycle. 

The five elements occur in a specific order

The five elements are set in a specific order - Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water - as each element has yin and yang qualities: 

• Yin: each element generates the next; e.g. Wood makes Fire burn; Fire creates Earth (e.g. volcanoes, ash etc); Earth contains Metal; Metal carries Water (e.g. buckets, pipes, etc); and Water feeds Wood to make it grow (e.g. trees, plants, etc). 

• Yang: each element can also overcome another by controlling or restraining; e.g. Wood controls and separates Earth (roots can stabilise soil; tree roots break up soil/rock); Earth controls Water (soil absorbs water); Water controls Fire (water extinguishes fire); Fire controls Metal (fire can melt metal); and Metal controls Wood (tools made of metal can cut, chop, saw, drill, nail, screw wood). 

Five elements: Symbolic image, Planet, Direction, Season, Colour & Shape

Each of the five elements are:

• symbolised by a creature; e.g Wood is symbolised by the image of a Dragon;

• represented by a planet in the Chinese zodiac: Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn, e.g. Wood = Jupiter 

• linked to a specific direction on the compass, season, climate/weather, and colour; and

• represented by a shape; e.g. Wood is rectangular and is represented by elongated shapes, whereas Fire is triangular and represented by pointed shapes. 

Each zodiac year's animal is associated with one of the five elements

 In Chinese astrology, each of the 12 signs of the zodiac are associated with one the five elements - Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, or Water - which is known as the fixed element of the sign. The element's yin and yang phases also influence an individual's personality. The five elements combined with the 12 zodiac signs produce a sixty-year cycle - whereas the "Snake" recurs every 12 years, the "Wood Snake" recurs once every 60 years. During its Lunar Year, the zodiac animal will also be influenced by each season's elements. Hence, during the summer season the element Fire will also have an influence on the zodiac animal.

Which of the five elements is linked to your zodiac animal?

The year a person is born determines which of the five elements occurs. For example, if a person's birth year ends in the number 4 or 5, their zodiac animal will also have the element of "Wood".  Hence, those born during the Lunar Year 2025 will be a "Wood Snake".

Chinese Spring Festival

As the Chinese New Year begins in January or February, around the Chinese solar term the 'Beginning of Spring', it is celebrated with the 'Spring Festival'. The celebration is known as ‘guonian’ (crossing the year). Festivities start on the New Year's eve, and last 15 days until the full moon arrives with the Lantern Festival. A variety of social practices take place to farewell the previous year and usher in the new year, pray for good fortune, celebrate family reunions and promote community harmony. (See: China Highlights: Chinese New Year Traditions and Celebrations )                

Lantern Festival is held on the 15th day

On 4 December 2024, UNESCO inscribed the Spring Festival on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: Spring festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of traditional new year

The traditional knowledge of the rituals, customs, legends and ballads associated with the spring festival, and the skills of preparing festival decorations and supplies, are transmitted informally within families and communities as well as formally through the public education system. Related crafts and performing arts are transmitted through apprenticeships. The spring festival promotes family values, social cohesion and peace while providing a sense of identity and continuity for the Chinese people.

Find out more:

• Boston University: BU Today: Before You Ring in the Lunar New Year, Check Out Our Dos and Don’ts

• Britannica: Chinese New Year

• China Highlights: Chineses Five Elements Philosophy and Culture

• National Library of New Zealand - Services to Schools: Topic Explorer: Chinese New Year, URL: https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/topics/59c0850a1257577d2500088f/chinese-new-year

• Twinkl: Chinese New Year 2025, URL: https://www.twinkl.co.nz/event/chinese-new-year-new-zealand-2025

This DigitalNZ story was compiled in January 2025