Chinese New Year 10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each of the ten heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Chinese astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The elements are rotated every two years while a yin and yang association alternates every year. The elements are thus distinguished: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. These produce a combined cycle that repeats every 60 years. For example, the year of the Yang Fire Rat occurred in 1936 and in 1996, 60 years apart. Many people inaccurately calculate their Chinese birth-year by converting it from their Gregorian
Chinese New Year the Gregorian calendar, the Lunar New Year begins at the new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February. The Gregorian Calendar dates for Chinese New Year from 1912 to 2101 are below, along with the year's presiding animal zodiac and its Stem-branch. The traditional Chinese calendar follows a Metonic cycle, a system used by the modern Jewish Calendar, and returns to the same date in Gregorian calendar roughly. The names of the Earthly Branches have no English counterparts and are "not" the Chinese translations of the animals. Alongside the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac there is a