Chinese lunar calendar · year archive
Current year & next Chinese New Year →Chinese calendar 1997: year of the Fire Ox
1997 is the year of the Fire Ox in the Chinese calendar, from 7 February 1997 to 27 January 1998: 355 days, 12 lunar months. Born before 7 February 1997? That is still the Fire Rat year.
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355 days · Year of the Fire Ox
Sexagenary year
Fire generates Earth: the year stem is Fire, while theOx's fixed phase is Earth.
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 Fire Ox
Fire generates Earth in the Five Phases, so the year element supports the Ox’s fixed element.
The animal repeats every 12 years, while the stem-and-branch pairing repeats every 60. The element in “Fire Ox” 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 1997
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 1997.
| Lunar month | Begins | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 7 February 1997 | 30 |
| Month 2 | 9 March 1997 | 29 |
| Month 3 | 7 April 1997 | 30 |
| Month 4 | 7 May 1997 | 29 |
| Month 5 | 5 June 1997 | 30 |
| Month 6 | 5 July 1997 | 29 |
| Month 7 | 3 August 1997 | 30 |
| Month 8 | 2 September 1997 | 30 |
| Month 9 | 2 October 1997 | 29 |
| Month 10 | 31 October 1997 | 30 |
| Month 11 | 30 November 1997 | 30 |
| Month 12 | 30 December 1997 | 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18 February 1997 · 22:51:29 UTC+8
- Awakening of Insects惊蛰5 March 1997 · 21:04:07 UTC+8
- Spring Equinox春分20 March 1997 · 21:54:40 UTC+8
- Pure Brightness清明5 April 1997 · 01:56:16 UTC+8
- Grain Rain谷雨20 April 1997 · 09:02:49 UTC+8
- Beginning of Summer立夏5 May 1997 · 19:19:26 UTC+8
- Grain Buds小满21 May 1997 · 08:17:53 UTC+8
- Grain in Ear芒种5 June 1997 · 23:32:31 UTC+8
- Summer Solstice夏至21 June 1997 · 16:19:56 UTC+8
- Minor Heat小暑7 July 1997 · 09:49:23 UTC+8
- Major Heat大暑23 July 1997 · 03:15:26 UTC+8
- Beginning of Autumn立秋7 August 1997 · 19:36:18 UTC+8
- End of Heat处暑23 August 1997 · 10:19:11 UTC+8
- White Dew白露7 September 1997 · 22:28:49 UTC+8
- Autumn Equinox秋分23 September 1997 · 07:55:47 UTC+8
- Cold Dew寒露8 October 1997 · 14:05:10 UTC+8
- Frost's Descent霜降23 October 1997 · 17:14:45 UTC+8
- Beginning of Winter立冬7 November 1997 · 17:14:38 UTC+8
- Minor Snow小雪22 November 1997 · 14:47:33 UTC+8
- Major Snow大雪7 December 1997 · 10:04:52 UTC+8
- Winter Solstice冬至22 December 1997 · 04:07:02 UTC+8
- Minor Cold小寒5 January 1998 · 21:18:09 UTC+8
- Major Cold大寒20 January 1998 · 14:46:04 UTC+8
Moving Gregorian dates
Festivals in the 1997 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 1997lunar 1/1
- 21 February 1997lunar 1/15
- 9 June 1997lunar 5/5
- 9 August 1997lunar 7/7
- 17 August 1997lunar 7/15
- 16 September 1997lunar 8/15
- 10 October 1997lunar 9/9
- 6 January 1998lunar 12/8
- 27 January 1998lunar 12/29
Gregorian index
Month by month in 1997
Each Gregorian month of 1997, with the lunar dates and day pillars it covers.