Chinese lunar calendar · year archive
Current year & next Chinese New Year →Chinese calendar 2020: year of the Metal Rat
2020 is the year of the Metal Rat in the Chinese calendar, from 25 January 2020 to 11 February 2021: 384 days, 13 lunar months, including leap month 4. Born before 25 January 2020? That is still the Earth Pig year.
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384 days · Year of the Metal Rat
Sexagenary year
Metal generates Water: the year stem is Metal, while theRat's fixed phase is Water.
Length
384 days
Across 13 lunar months.
Leap month
Month 4
29 days in the repeated month.
Beginning of Spring
Twice
立春 falls twice — a double-spring year, 双春年.
Year name explained
Why Metal Rat
Metal generates Water in the Five Phases, so the year element supports the Rat’s fixed element.
The animal repeats every 12 years, while the stem-and-branch pairing repeats every 60. The element in “Metal Rat” comes from the year's heavenly stem; it is distinct from the animal's conventional fixed phase. Read the calendar glossary.
The 13 lunar months of 2020
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 2020.
| Lunar month | Begins | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 25 January 2020 | 29 |
| Month 2 | 23 February 2020 | 30 |
| Month 3 | 24 March 2020 | 30 |
| Month 4 | 23 April 2020 | 30 |
| Leap month 4 | 23 May 2020 | 29 |
| Month 5 | 21 June 2020 | 30 |
| Month 6 | 21 July 2020 | 29 |
| Month 7 | 19 August 2020 | 29 |
| Month 8 | 17 September 2020 | 30 |
| Month 9 | 17 October 2020 | 29 |
| Month 10 | 15 November 2020 | 30 |
| Month 11 | 15 December 2020 | 29 |
| Month 12 | 13 January 2021 | 30 |
The solar year within it
25 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.
- Beginning of Spring立春4 February 2020 · 17:03:19 UTC+8
- Rain Water雨水19 February 2020 · 12:57:00 UTC+8
- Awakening of Insects惊蛰5 March 2020 · 10:56:52 UTC+8
- Spring Equinox春分20 March 2020 · 11:49:37 UTC+8
- Pure Brightness清明4 April 2020 · 15:38:09 UTC+8
- Grain Rain谷雨19 April 2020 · 22:45:29 UTC+8
- Beginning of Summer立夏5 May 2020 · 08:51:23 UTC+8
- Grain Buds小满20 May 2020 · 21:49:17 UTC+8
- Grain in Ear芒种5 June 2020 · 12:58:26 UTC+8
- Summer Solstice夏至21 June 2020 · 05:43:41 UTC+8
- Minor Heat小暑6 July 2020 · 23:14:28 UTC+8
- Major Heat大暑22 July 2020 · 16:36:52 UTC+8
- Beginning of Autumn立秋7 August 2020 · 09:06:11 UTC+8
- End of Heat处暑22 August 2020 · 23:44:56 UTC+8
- White Dew白露7 September 2020 · 12:08:02 UTC+8
- Autumn Equinox秋分22 September 2020 · 21:30:40 UTC+8
- Cold Dew寒露8 October 2020 · 03:55:16 UTC+8
- Frost's Descent霜降23 October 2020 · 06:59:34 UTC+8
- Beginning of Winter立冬7 November 2020 · 07:13:55 UTC+8
- Minor Snow小雪22 November 2020 · 04:39:46 UTC+8
- Major Snow大雪7 December 2020 · 00:09:30 UTC+8
- Winter Solstice冬至21 December 2020 · 18:02:21 UTC+8
- Minor Cold小寒5 January 2021 · 11:23:26 UTC+8
- Major Cold大寒20 January 2021 · 04:39:51 UTC+8
- Beginning of Spring立春3 February 2021 · 22:58:48 UTC+8
Moving Gregorian dates
Festivals in the 2020 lunar year
Most follow numbered lunar dates; Qingming and Winter Solstice follow exact solar-term instants. Open a festival to see its rule.
- 25 January 2020lunar 1/1
- 8 February 2020lunar 1/15
- 25 June 2020lunar 5/5
- 25 August 2020lunar 7/7
- 2 September 2020lunar 7/15
- 1 October 2020lunar 8/15
- 25 October 2020lunar 9/9
- 20 January 2021lunar 12/8
- 11 February 2021lunar 12/30
Gregorian index
Month by month in 2020
Each Gregorian month of 2020, with the lunar dates and day pillars it covers.