Chinese lunar calendar · year archive
Current year & next Chinese New Year →Chinese calendar 2016: year of the Fire Monkey
2016 is the year of the Fire Monkey in the Chinese calendar, from 8 February 2016 to 27 January 2017: 355 days, 12 lunar months. Born before 8 February 2016? That is still the Wood Goat year.
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355 days · Year of the Fire Monkey
Sexagenary year
Fire controls Metal: the year stem is Fire, while theMonkey's fixed phase is Metal.
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 Monkey
Fire restrains Metal in the Five Phases, so the year element is understood as moderating the Monkey’s fixed element.
The animal repeats every 12 years, while the stem-and-branch pairing repeats every 60. The element in “Fire Monkey” 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 2016
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 2016.
| Lunar month | Begins | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 8 February 2016 | 30 |
| Month 2 | 9 March 2016 | 29 |
| Month 3 | 7 April 2016 | 30 |
| Month 4 | 7 May 2016 | 29 |
| Month 5 | 5 June 2016 | 29 |
| Month 6 | 4 July 2016 | 30 |
| Month 7 | 3 August 2016 | 29 |
| Month 8 | 1 September 2016 | 30 |
| Month 9 | 1 October 2016 | 30 |
| Month 10 | 31 October 2016 | 29 |
| Month 11 | 29 November 2016 | 30 |
| Month 12 | 29 December 2016 | 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19 February 2016 · 13:33:43 UTC+8
- Awakening of Insects惊蛰5 March 2016 · 11:43:33 UTC+8
- Spring Equinox春分20 March 2016 · 12:30:11 UTC+8
- Pure Brightness清明4 April 2016 · 16:27:31 UTC+8
- Grain Rain谷雨19 April 2016 · 23:29:26 UTC+8
- Beginning of Summer立夏5 May 2016 · 09:41:53 UTC+8
- Grain Buds小满20 May 2016 · 22:36:29 UTC+8
- Grain in Ear芒种5 June 2016 · 13:48:30 UTC+8
- Summer Solstice夏至21 June 2016 · 06:34:11 UTC+8
- Minor Heat小暑7 July 2016 · 00:03:21 UTC+8
- Major Heat大暑22 July 2016 · 17:30:12 UTC+8
- Beginning of Autumn立秋7 August 2016 · 09:53:01 UTC+8
- End of Heat处暑23 August 2016 · 00:38:29 UTC+8
- White Dew白露7 September 2016 · 12:51:05 UTC+8
- Autumn Equinox秋分22 September 2016 · 22:21:08 UTC+8
- Cold Dew寒露8 October 2016 · 04:33:23 UTC+8
- Frost's Descent霜降23 October 2016 · 07:45:33 UTC+8
- Beginning of Winter立冬7 November 2016 · 07:47:41 UTC+8
- Minor Snow小雪22 November 2016 · 05:22:23 UTC+8
- Major Snow大雪7 December 2016 · 00:41:07 UTC+8
- Winter Solstice冬至21 December 2016 · 18:44:10 UTC+8
- Minor Cold小寒5 January 2017 · 11:55:45 UTC+8
- Major Cold大寒20 January 2017 · 05:23:36 UTC+8
Moving Gregorian dates
Festivals in the 2016 lunar year
Most follow numbered lunar dates; Qingming and Winter Solstice follow exact solar-term instants. Open a festival to see its rule.
- 8 February 2016lunar 1/1
- 22 February 2016lunar 1/15
- 9 June 2016lunar 5/5
- 9 August 2016lunar 7/7
- 17 August 2016lunar 7/15
- 15 September 2016lunar 8/15
- 9 October 2016lunar 9/9
- 5 January 2017lunar 12/8
- 27 January 2017lunar 12/30
Gregorian index
Month by month in 2016
Each Gregorian month of 2016, with the lunar dates and day pillars it covers.