Began 31 January 1957 · 383 days long
1957: year of the Fire
The year started on 31 January, not on 1 January — so anyone born in 1957 before that date is a .
If you were born in 1957
Born on or after 31 January — you are the Fire . Born between 1 January and 30 January — you are a , and every calculator that asked only for your birth year has been telling you otherwise. That is 30 days of 1957 assigned to the wrong animal by the usual method.
The across the cycle
The animal returns every 12 years but the element every 60, so each of these years is a different .
Lunar years around 1957
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.
Why 383 days, and not 365
The Chinese calendar counts lunar months of about 29.53 days. Twelve of them come to roughly 354 days, eleven short of a solar year, so a thirteenth month is inserted every two or three years to keep the calendar aligned with the seasons. At 383 days, 1957 was one of those leap years, carrying 13 lunar months.
This is also why the new year date jumps around instead of drifting steadily: it moves back about eleven days each ordinary year, then forward by roughly nineteen when the leap month arrives.