CALENDAR FOUNDATIONS
The Lunar New Year boundary
This calculator changes the year placement on the first day of the first lunar month.
Go deeper: the full reference
What it means
A January or early-February birthday can belong to the previous lunar year. The calculator uses the Chinese calendar date for the entered Gregorian civil date; it does not simply subtract years or switch on January 1.
An example
February 9, 2024 is in the Rabbit year; February 10 begins the Dragon year under this convention.
A question to carry with you
Which calendar boundary are you using when you name a year?
Find your own lunar-year placement
Use your birth date to find the year animal, stem, branch, stem phase and Yin/Yang. This calculator follows Chinese New Year; it does not calculate a full Four Pillars (BaZi) chart.
Connect the ideas
A lunisolar calendar
Chinese calendar months follow lunar phases while the year stays aligned with seasons.
1 min readThe sixty-year stem-branch cycle
Ten Heavenly Stems pair in order with twelve Earthly Branches to form sixty year names.
1 min readAn intercalary lunar month
Some lunar years repeat a month number to keep the calendar in seasonal alignment.
1 min readLunar New Year and Li Chun are different boundaries
Some Four Pillars traditions use the solar term Li Chun for the year pillar.
1 min read