Today, 19 Sept 2026, is lunar month 8, day 9. This 30-day calendar marks 1 festival date and 2 solar terms. Select a day for its lunar date and almanac.
| SunSunday | MonMonday | TueTuesday | WedWednesday | ThuThursday | FriFriday | SatSaturday |
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Each cell shows the Gregorian day above its lunar month/day. Select any day to update the quick overview. Open the full date only when you want more detail.
Calendar explained
Each cell shows the Gregorian day above its lunar month/day. Select any day to update the quick overview. Open the full date only when you want more detail.
Pillars & elements
Each calendar year also carries a name from the sixty-year sexagenary cycle, pairing a Heavenly Stem with an Earthly Branch; the branch corresponds to one of the twelve zodiac animals. Explore their calendar positions, elements and traditional relationships in the animal guide.
Its animal is a day label, independent of the year animal. The pair does not reset at a new lunar month or a new year.
Most festivals above are fixed to a day of the lunar calendar, not to a day of the Gregorian one. Mid-Autumn is always the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month; Dragon Boat is always the fifth day of the fifth. Because the lunar year runs about eleven days shorter than the solar year, and a leap month is inserted roughly every third year to correct it, those fixed lunar days land on a different Gregorian date each time.
The calendar grid shows dates and calendar labels. The auspicious dates tool lists Yi and Ji activities in a complete monthly calendar and lets you filter by activity or add your own sign.
Calculated phase moments use fixed UTC+8. A lunar day number and a Moon phase describe different things. How they fit together →
Solar terms divide 360 degrees of apparent solar longitude into 24 equal steps of 15 degrees. They stay near the same Gregorian dates because they follow the Sun, while lunar month starts move with the Moon.
Explore further
The familiar birth-year animal returns every twelve years. This calendar changes its year animal at Chinese New Year, not January 1. An early-year birthday can belong to the previous animal year.
Each festival name opens its next date, year-specific calendar and traditions. Each Gregorian date opens that day's complete lunar conversion.
Compare every month of 2026 for your chosen activity. Yi lists suitable activities and Ji lists those to avoid; a day’s general label and its match with your own animal are shown separately.
The first character of a pillar supplies a phase and polarity: Jia is Yang Wood, Yi is Yin Wood, and so on. This is the element in names such as “Yang Wood Monkey.”
Calendar foundations
The traditional Chinese calendar is lunisolar: its months follow the Moon, beginning near each new moon, while its years are kept in step with the solar cycle. A common year has twelve lunar months of 29 or 30 days; to stop the calendar drifting away from the seasons, a leap year inserts a thirteenth, repeated month — a leap month.
Each calendar year also carries a name from the sixty-year sexagenary cycle, pairing a Heavenly Stem with an Earthly Branch; the branch corresponds to one of the twelve zodiac animals. Explore their calendar positions, elements and traditional relationships in the animal guide.
Because lunar months do not align with Gregorian months, the same Gregorian day can fall on a different lunar date from one year to the next — which is why Chinese New Year and the traditional festivals move around the Gregorian calendar. The month grid above shows both systems side by side.
Calendar questions
A leap lunar year repeats one numbered month so the calendar stays aligned with the seasons. The repeated occurrence is marked explicitly as a leap month in every result and grid cell on this site.
Chinese New Year is the first day of the first lunar month. Because lunar months are 29 or 30 days long, that day lands between late January and late February in the Gregorian calendar.
Gregorian dates from 1901-01-01 through 2050-12-31; dates outside that range are not available in the converter.
The calendar grid shows dates and calendar labels. The auspicious dates tool lists Yi and Ji activities in a complete monthly calendar and lets you filter by activity or add your own sign.
Last quarter
New moon
First quarter
Full moon