Began January 27, 1952 · 384 days long
1952: year of the Water Dragon
The Dragon year started on January 27, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 1952 before that date is a Rabbit.
- Opening new moon
- Jan 26, 1952 10:27 PM UTC
- In Beijing
- 6:27 AM Sun, Jan 27 · sets the date
- Year of the Dragon
- 384 days 13 lunar months, one of them leap
- It ends
- Feb 14, 1953 1:11 AM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 1952: the new moon in your city
The Water Dragon year opened with the new moon at 10:27 PM UTC on January 26, 1952 — 6:27 AM on January 27 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 5:27 PM on January 26 in New York, 10:27 PM on January 26 in London and 8:27 AM on January 27 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Sat, Jan 26, 1952 |
| Honolulu United States | 12:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 12:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−10 |
| Los Angeles United States | 2:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 3:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 3:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 4:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 4:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 5:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 5:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 5:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 5:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 5:57 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−4:30 |
| Santiago Chile | 6:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−4 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 7:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 8:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−2 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 9:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC−1 |
| London United Kingdom | 10:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 11:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 11:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 11:27 PM Sat, Jan 26, 1952 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 12:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 12:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 12:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 12:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+2 |
| Moscow Russia | 1:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 1:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 1:57 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 2:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 3:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 3:57 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 3:57 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+5:30 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 4:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 5:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 5:57 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+7:30 |
| Singapore | 5:57 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+7:30 |
| Beijing China | 6:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 6:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 6:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 7:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 7:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 7:57 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+9:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 8:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 8:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+10 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 10:27 AM Sun, Jan 27, 1952 · UTC+12 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 1952 date as in the Hong Kong Observatory calendar. Local times: IANA time zones, to the minute.
18 pages · printable
The 2027 Sky Calendar — free PDF
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 Water Dragon personality
Anyone born from January 27, 1952 through February 13, 1953 is a Water Dragon: the yang water stem 壬 over the 辰 branch.
The Dragon's own Earth controls Water here, so the sign keeps the upper hand over the year's element. Water brings adaptability, perception and diplomacy — traditionally the most intuitive version, and the most easily influenced.
Stem and branch
1952 is 壬辰 (Rénchén)
Na yin — the sounding element
Long-flowing Water 長流水
A great river that keeps moving. The image is continuity and patience: progress measured over distance, with the ability to carry a great deal without stopping.
1952 therefore carries water from its stem and water from its na yin — the same element twice. What na yin is →
Li Chun inside the year
A double spring year
The two Li Chun dates around it are February 5, 1952 and February 4, 1953, Beijing time. The Dragon year spans January 27, 1952 to February 13, 1953, so both dates sit inside it: a double spring year (双春). What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 1952 Dragon
The 辰 branch puts a 1952 Dragon opposite the Dog on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Dog year after it was 1958. Its harmony partner is the Rooster, whose year came round 5 years later, in 1957. How the Dragon and Dog get on →
Dragons born in 1952 turn 74 in 2026 — 75 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 1952
- Born January 1 – January 26, 1952: a Metal Rabbit, the animal of 1951.
- Born January 27, 1952 or later in the year: a Water Dragon.
Only the first 26 days of 1952 belong to the Rabbit, yet a year-only calculator still calls them Dragons. Those dates hold 6.8% of US births (SSA, 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 1952
Why 384 days, and not 365
1952 repeated its fifth month: the leap month 闰五月 ran from June 22 to July 21 and stretched the year to 384 days. Seven of the 13 months had 30 days.
The 30-day months were the 2nd, 4th, leap 5th, 7th, 8th, 10th and 12th.
Festival dates in the 1952 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Sun, Feb 10, 1952 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Wed, May 28, 1952 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Tue, Aug 26, 1952 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Wed, Sep 3, 1952 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Fri, Oct 3, 1952 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Mon, Oct 27, 1952 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Mon, Dec 22, 1952 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Thu, Jan 22, 1953 |
The year's first full moon arrived at 8:27 AM on February 11, 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 8:14 PM Beijing time on October 3.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 1952
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.
Only 20 of the 110 new years in the table fall earlier in the calendar than January 27. Three other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 1940 began on February 8; twelve years later, 1964 began on February 13 — both marked in lavender with the other Dragon years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 1952: Zodiac Year of the Water Dragon.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1952/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 1952: Zodiac Year of the Water Dragon |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1952/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}