Chinese New Year 2025: When is Lunar New Year and which animal are you?
12 animals make up the Chinese New Year zodiac sign cycle
Chinese New Year is celebrated by approximately 2 billion people around the world, making it one of the world’s biggest celebrations.
According to Chinese tradition each year is represented by one of 12 zodiac animals.
2025 is the year of the snake, the other 11 zodiac animals are rat, dog, dragon, rabbit, tiger, ox, monkey, rooster, pig, horse and goat.
What do Chinese New Year animals mean?
Each of the 12 animals are believed to represent certain characteristics to people born in that year.
People born under the Year of the Snake are considered to be enthusiastic, wise, intuitive and mysterious.
When is Chinese New Year 2025?
Chinese New Year 2025 begins on Wednesday January 29, 2025 which is the Year of the Snake.
Depending on which traditions are adhered to, celebrations can last up to a fortnight.
What is your Chinese New Year animal?
Here are the list of animals and years:
Rat 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
Ox 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Tiger 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
Rabbit 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
Dragon 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
Snake 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
Horse 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014
Goat 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015
Monkey 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016
Rooster 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017
Dog 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018
Pig 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019
Difference between Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year?
According to China Highlights, when referring specifically to the new year event when Chinese traditions and culture are celebrated, you can refer to it as Chinese New Year.
Lunar New Year is a more general term and covers all celebrations that mark a new year according to a lunar calendar.
Everything you need to know about Chinese New Year animals
How did animals find their place in the Chinese Zodiac?
According to Chinese mythology, the wise Jade Emperor organised a race and invited all the animals in the world to participate.
12 animals arrived to take part, they were snake, horse, dog, pig, rabbit, ox, tiger, rat, dragon, monkey, rooster and sheep.
A pleased Emperor Jade decided to name a year in the zodiac after each species, while the race determined the order each animal would be placed in.