Chinese lunar calendar · year archive
Current year & next Chinese New Year →Chinese calendar 2021: year of the Metal Ox
2021 is the year of the Metal Ox in the Chinese calendar, from 12 February 2021 to 31 January 2022: 354 days, 12 lunar months. Born before 12 February 2021? That is still the Metal Rat year.
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354 days · Year of the Metal Ox
Sexagenary year
Earth generates Metal: the year stem is Metal, while theOx's fixed phase is Earth.
Length
354 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 Metal Ox
Earth generates Metal in the Five Phases, so the Ox’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 “Metal 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 2021
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 2021.
| Lunar month | Begins | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 12 February 2021 | 29 |
| Month 2 | 13 March 2021 | 30 |
| Month 3 | 12 April 2021 | 30 |
| Month 4 | 12 May 2021 | 29 |
| Month 5 | 10 June 2021 | 30 |
| Month 6 | 10 July 2021 | 29 |
| Month 7 | 8 August 2021 | 30 |
| Month 8 | 7 September 2021 | 29 |
| Month 9 | 6 October 2021 | 30 |
| Month 10 | 5 November 2021 | 29 |
| Month 11 | 4 December 2021 | 30 |
| Month 12 | 3 January 2022 | 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 2021 · 18:43:58 UTC+8
- Awakening of Insects惊蛰5 March 2021 · 16:53:42 UTC+8
- Spring Equinox春分20 March 2021 · 17:37:28 UTC+8
- Pure Brightness清明4 April 2021 · 21:35:07 UTC+8
- Grain Rain谷雨20 April 2021 · 04:33:23 UTC+8
- Beginning of Summer立夏5 May 2021 · 14:47:11 UTC+8
- Grain Buds小满21 May 2021 · 03:37:07 UTC+8
- Grain in Ear芒种5 June 2021 · 18:52:06 UTC+8
- Summer Solstice夏至21 June 2021 · 11:32:10 UTC+8
- Minor Heat小暑7 July 2021 · 05:05:29 UTC+8
- Major Heat大暑22 July 2021 · 22:26:25 UTC+8
- Beginning of Autumn立秋7 August 2021 · 14:53:58 UTC+8
- End of Heat处暑23 August 2021 · 05:34:58 UTC+8
- White Dew白露7 September 2021 · 17:52:56 UTC+8
- Autumn Equinox秋分23 September 2021 · 03:21:05 UTC+8
- Cold Dew寒露8 October 2021 · 09:39:03 UTC+8
- Frost's Descent霜降23 October 2021 · 12:51:10 UTC+8
- Beginning of Winter立冬7 November 2021 · 12:58:47 UTC+8
- Minor Snow小雪22 November 2021 · 10:33:45 UTC+8
- Major Snow大雪7 December 2021 · 05:57:06 UTC+8
- Winter Solstice冬至21 December 2021 · 23:59:19 UTC+8
- Minor Cold小寒5 January 2022 · 17:14:04 UTC+8
- Major Cold大寒20 January 2022 · 10:39:06 UTC+8
Moving Gregorian dates
Festivals in the 2021 lunar year
Most follow numbered lunar dates; Qingming and Winter Solstice follow exact solar-term instants. Open a festival to see its rule.
- 12 February 2021lunar 1/1
- 26 February 2021lunar 1/15
- 14 June 2021lunar 5/5
- 14 August 2021lunar 7/7
- 22 August 2021lunar 7/15
- 21 September 2021lunar 8/15
- 14 October 2021lunar 9/9
- 10 January 2022lunar 12/8
- 31 January 2022lunar 12/29
Gregorian index
Month by month in 2021
Each Gregorian month of 2021, with the lunar dates and day pillars it covers.