Chinese lunar calendar · year archive
Current year & next Chinese New Year →Chinese calendar 1978: year of the Earth Horse
1978 is the year of the Earth Horse in the Chinese calendar, from 7 February 1978 to 27 January 1979: 355 days, 12 lunar months. Born before 7 February 1978? That is still the Fire Snake year.
Choose “Save as PDF” in your browser’s print destination to keep this calendar.
355 days · Year of the Earth Horse
Sexagenary year
Fire generates Earth: the year stem is Earth, while theHorse's fixed phase is Fire.
Length
355 days
Across 12 lunar months.
Leap month
None
The year runs its ordinary twelve months.
Beginning of Spring
Not within this year
立春 does not fall inside it — a springless year, 无春年.
Year name explained
Why Earth Horse
Fire generates Earth in the Five Phases, so the Horse’s fixed element supports the year element.
The animal repeats every 12 years, while the stem-and-branch pairing repeats every 60. The element in “Earth Horse” comes from the year's heavenly stem; it is distinct from the animal's conventional fixed phase. Read the calendar glossary.
The 12 lunar months of 1978
A lunar month begins on the day of the new moon, so its Gregorian start date moves every year. These are the exact correspondences for 1978.
| Lunar month | Begins | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 7 February 1978 | 30 |
| Month 2 | 9 March 1978 | 29 |
| Month 3 | 7 April 1978 | 30 |
| Month 4 | 7 May 1978 | 30 |
| Month 5 | 6 June 1978 | 29 |
| Month 6 | 5 July 1978 | 30 |
| Month 7 | 4 August 1978 | 30 |
| Month 8 | 3 September 1978 | 29 |
| Month 9 | 2 October 1978 | 30 |
| Month 10 | 1 November 1978 | 29 |
| Month 11 | 30 November 1978 | 30 |
| Month 12 | 30 December 1978 | 29 |
The solar year within it
23 solar terms
Solar terms track the sun rather than the moon, so they sit at almost the same Gregorian date every year while the lunar months move by weeks. A twelve-month year is about eleven days shorter than the solar year and so holds fewer of them than a thirteen-month one.
- Rain Water雨水19 February 1978 · 08:20:57 UTC+8
- Awakening of Insects惊蛰6 March 1978 · 06:38:11 UTC+8
- Spring Equinox春分21 March 1978 · 07:33:34 UTC+8
- Pure Brightness清明5 April 1978 · 11:39:20 UTC+8
- Grain Rain谷雨20 April 1978 · 18:49:32 UTC+8
- Beginning of Summer立夏6 May 1978 · 05:08:32 UTC+8
- Grain Buds小满21 May 1978 · 18:08:26 UTC+8
- Grain in Ear芒种6 June 1978 · 09:23:05 UTC+8
- Summer Solstice夏至22 June 1978 · 02:09:33 UTC+8
- Minor Heat小暑7 July 1978 · 19:36:57 UTC+8
- Major Heat大暑23 July 1978 · 13:00:14 UTC+8
- Beginning of Autumn立秋8 August 1978 · 05:17:40 UTC+8
- End of Heat处暑23 August 1978 · 19:56:46 UTC+8
- White Dew白露8 September 1978 · 08:02:24 UTC+8
- Autumn Equinox秋分23 September 1978 · 17:25:24 UTC+8
- Cold Dew寒露8 October 1978 · 23:30:54 UTC+8
- Frost's Descent霜降24 October 1978 · 02:37:09 UTC+8
- Beginning of Winter立冬8 November 1978 · 02:34:01 UTC+8
- Minor Snow小雪23 November 1978 · 00:04:36 UTC+8
- Major Snow大雪7 December 1978 · 19:20:01 UTC+8
- Winter Solstice冬至22 December 1978 · 13:20:57 UTC+8
- Minor Cold小寒6 January 1979 · 06:31:33 UTC+8
- Major Cold大寒20 January 1979 · 23:59:56 UTC+8
Moving Gregorian dates
Festivals in the 1978 lunar year
Most follow numbered lunar dates; Qingming and Winter Solstice follow exact solar-term instants. Open a festival to see its rule.
- 7 February 1978lunar 1/1
- 21 February 1978lunar 1/15
- 10 June 1978lunar 5/5
- 10 August 1978lunar 7/7
- 18 August 1978lunar 7/15
- 17 September 1978lunar 8/15
- 10 October 1978lunar 9/9
- 6 January 1979lunar 12/8
- 27 January 1979lunar 12/29
Gregorian index
Month by month in 1978
Each Gregorian month of 1978, with the lunar dates and day pillars it covers.