Chinese lunar calendar · year archive
Current year & next Chinese New Year →Chinese calendar 2013: year of the Water Snake
2013 is the year of the Water Snake in the Chinese calendar, from 10 February 2013 to 30 January 2014: 355 days, 12 lunar months. Born before 10 February 2013? That is still the Water Dragon year.
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355 days · Year of the Water Snake
Sexagenary year
Water controls Fire: the year stem is Water, while theSnake'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 Water Snake
Water restrains Fire in the Five Phases, so the year element is understood as moderating the Snake’s fixed element.
The animal repeats every 12 years, while the stem-and-branch pairing repeats every 60. The element in “Water Snake” 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 2013
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 2013.
| Lunar month | Begins | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 10 February 2013 | 30 |
| Month 2 | 12 March 2013 | 29 |
| Month 3 | 10 April 2013 | 30 |
| Month 4 | 10 May 2013 | 29 |
| Month 5 | 8 June 2013 | 30 |
| Month 6 | 8 July 2013 | 30 |
| Month 7 | 7 August 2013 | 29 |
| Month 8 | 5 September 2013 | 30 |
| Month 9 | 5 October 2013 | 29 |
| Month 10 | 3 November 2013 | 30 |
| Month 11 | 3 December 2013 | 29 |
| Month 12 | 1 January 2014 | 30 |
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 2013 · 20:01:36 UTC+8
- Awakening of Insects惊蛰5 March 2013 · 18:14:51 UTC+8
- Spring Equinox春分20 March 2013 · 19:01:56 UTC+8
- Pure Brightness清明4 April 2013 · 23:02:27 UTC+8
- Grain Rain谷雨20 April 2013 · 06:03:18 UTC+8
- Beginning of Summer立夏5 May 2013 · 16:18:10 UTC+8
- Grain Buds小满21 May 2013 · 05:09:30 UTC+8
- Grain in Ear芒种5 June 2013 · 20:23:19 UTC+8
- Summer Solstice夏至21 June 2013 · 13:03:56 UTC+8
- Minor Heat小暑7 July 2013 · 06:34:36 UTC+8
- Major Heat大暑22 July 2013 · 23:55:58 UTC+8
- Beginning of Autumn立秋7 August 2013 · 16:20:22 UTC+8
- End of Heat处暑23 August 2013 · 07:01:42 UTC+8
- White Dew白露7 September 2013 · 19:16:16 UTC+8
- Autumn Equinox秋分23 September 2013 · 04:44:08 UTC+8
- Cold Dew寒露8 October 2013 · 10:58:30 UTC+8
- Frost's Descent霜降23 October 2013 · 14:09:48 UTC+8
- Beginning of Winter立冬7 November 2013 · 14:13:53 UTC+8
- Minor Snow小雪22 November 2013 · 11:48:07 UTC+8
- Major Snow大雪7 December 2013 · 07:08:32 UTC+8
- Winter Solstice冬至22 December 2013 · 01:11:00 UTC+8
- Minor Cold小寒5 January 2014 · 18:24:11 UTC+8
- Major Cold大寒20 January 2014 · 11:51:15 UTC+8
Moving Gregorian dates
Festivals in the 2013 lunar year
Most follow numbered lunar dates; Qingming and Winter Solstice follow exact solar-term instants. Open a festival to see its rule.
- 10 February 2013lunar 1/1
- 24 February 2013lunar 1/15
- 12 June 2013lunar 5/5
- 13 August 2013lunar 7/7
- 21 August 2013lunar 7/15
- 19 September 2013lunar 8/15
- 13 October 2013lunar 9/9
- 8 January 2014lunar 12/8
- 30 January 2014lunar 12/30
Gregorian index
Month by month in 2013
Each Gregorian month of 2013, with the lunar dates and day pillars it covers.