Began February 8, 1940 · 354 days long
1940: year of the Metal Dragon
The Dragon year started on February 8, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 1940 before that date is a Rabbit.
- Opening new moon
- Feb 8, 1940 7:46 AM UTC
- In Beijing
- 3:46 PM Thu, Feb 8 · sets the date
- Year of the Dragon
- 354 days 12 lunar months
- It ends
- Jan 27, 1941 11:03 AM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 1940: the new moon in your city
The Metal Dragon year opened with the new moon at 7:46 AM UTC on February 8, 1940 — 3:46 PM on February 8 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 2:46 AM on February 8 in New York, 7:46 AM on February 8 in London and 5:46 PM on February 8 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Thu, Feb 8, 1940 |
| Honolulu United States | 9:16 PM Wed, Feb 7, 1940 · UTC−10:30 |
| Anchorage United States | 9:46 PM Wed, Feb 7, 1940 · UTC−10 |
| Los Angeles United States | 11:46 PM Wed, Feb 7, 1940 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 12:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 12:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 1:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 1:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 2:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 2:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 2:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 3:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−4 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 3:16 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−4:30 |
| Santiago Chile | 3:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−4 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 4:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 4:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−3 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 6:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC−1 |
| London United Kingdom | 7:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 8:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 7:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC |
| Berlin Germany | 8:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 9:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 9:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 9:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 9:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+2 |
| Moscow Russia | 10:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 10:31 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+2:45 |
| Tehran Iran | 11:16 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 11:46 AM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 1:16 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+5:30 |
| New Delhi India | 1:16 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 1:16 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+5:30 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 1:39 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+5:53 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 2:46 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 3:16 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+7:30 |
| Singapore | 3:06 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+7:20 |
| Beijing China | 3:46 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 3:46 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 3:46 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 4:46 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 4:46 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 5:16 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+9:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 5:46 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 5:46 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+10 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 7:46 PM Thu, Feb 8, 1940 · UTC+12 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 1940 date as in the Hong Kong Observatory calendar. Local times: IANA time zones, to the minute.
18 pages · printable
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Every retrograde, eclipse, new and full moon of 2027 to the minute, already converted to your city. A month to a page, ready to print.
Personality
The Metal Dragon personality
Anyone born from February 8, 1940 through January 26, 1941 is a Metal Dragon: the yang metal stem 庚 over the 辰 branch.
The Dragon's own Earth feeds Metal here, which drains as much as it gives: productive, but inclined to spend itself. Metal brings discipline, resolve and sharp edges — traditionally the most determined version, and the least willing to bend.
Stem and branch
1940 is 庚辰 (Gēngchén)
Na yin — the sounding element
White Wax Gold 白蠟金
Soft, pale metal not yet fully forged, sometimes translated as pewter. Readings describe refinement still in progress: talent that becomes solid through heat and pressure over time.
1940 therefore carries metal from its stem and metal from its na yin — the same element twice. What na yin is →
Li Chun inside the year
A "blind" year with no spring
The two Li Chun dates around it are February 5, 1940 and February 4, 1941, Beijing time. The Dragon year spans February 8, 1940 to January 26, 1941, so neither date sits inside it: a blind year (无春年). What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 1940 Dragon
The 辰 branch puts a 1940 Dragon opposite the Dog on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Dog year after it was 1946. Its harmony partner is the Rooster, whose year came round 5 years later, in 1945. How the Dragon and Dog get on →
Dragons born in 1940 turn 86 in 2026 — 87 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 1940
- Born January 1 – February 7, 1940: an Earth Rabbit, the animal of 1939.
- Born February 8, 1940 or later in the year: a Metal Dragon.
A year-only calculator mislabels 38 days of 1940, everything from January 1 to February 7. That is about one US birth in 10 (10.0%, SSA records 2000–2014). Check your exact date →
The Dragon across the cycle
The animal returns every 12 years but the element every 60, so each of these years is a different Dragon.
The lunar calendar of 1940
Why 354 days, and not 365
No leap month this time: from February 8, 1940 to January 26, 1941, 1940 ran twelve months, six of 30 days and six of 29 — 354 days.
The 30-day months were the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 9th and 11th.
Festival dates in the 1940 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Thu, Feb 22, 1940 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Mon, Jun 10, 1940 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Sat, Aug 10, 1940 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Sun, Aug 18, 1940 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Mon, Sep 16, 1940 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Wed, Oct 9, 1940 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Sun, Dec 22, 1940 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Sun, Jan 5, 1941 |
The year's first full moon arrived at 5:55 PM on February 23, the day after the Lantern Festival. This time the calendar and the sky agreed: the Moon was exactly full on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, at 11:40 PM Beijing time on September 16.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 1940
Lengths differ because a leap month is inserted every two or three years. This is what makes the new year date jump rather than drift.
By date, 1940 sits mid-table: of the 110 new years, 66 fall earlier in the calendar and 41 later. Two other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 1928 began on January 23; twelve years later, 1952 began on January 27 — both marked in lavender with the other Dragon years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 1940: Zodiac Year of the Metal Dragon.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1940/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 1940: Zodiac Year of the Metal Dragon |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1940/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}