Began February 15, 1961 · 355 days long
1961: year of the Metal Ox
The Ox year started on February 15, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 1961 before that date is a Rat.
- Opening new moon
- Feb 15, 1961 8:11 AM UTC
- In Beijing
- 4:11 PM Wed, Feb 15 · sets the date
- Year of the Ox
- 355 days 12 lunar months
- It ends
- Feb 5, 1962 12:11 AM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 1961: the new moon in your city
The Metal Ox year opened with the new moon at 8:11 AM UTC on February 15, 1961 — 4:11 PM on February 15 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 3:11 AM on February 15 in New York, 8:11 AM on February 15 in London and 6:11 PM on February 15 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Wed, Feb 15, 1961 |
| Honolulu United States | 10:11 PM Tue, Feb 14, 1961 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 10:11 PM Tue, Feb 14, 1961 · UTC−10 |
| Los Angeles United States | 12:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 1:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 1:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 2:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 2:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 3:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 3:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 3:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 3:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 3:41 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−4:30 |
| Santiago Chile | 4:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−4 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 5:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 5:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−3 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 7:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC−1 |
| London United Kingdom | 8:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 9:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 9:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 9:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 10:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 10:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 10:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 10:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+2 |
| Moscow Russia | 11:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 11:11 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 11:41 AM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 12:11 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 1:11 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 1:41 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 1:41 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+5:30 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 2:11 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 3:11 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 3:41 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+7:30 |
| Singapore | 3:41 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+7:30 |
| Beijing China | 4:11 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 4:11 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 4:11 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 4:41 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+8:30 |
| Tokyo Japan | 5:11 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 5:41 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+9:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 6:11 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 6:11 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+10 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 8:11 PM Wed, Feb 15, 1961 · UTC+12 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 1961 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 Metal Ox personality
Anyone born from February 15, 1961 through February 4, 1962 is a Metal Ox: the yin metal stem 辛 over the 丑 branch.
The Ox'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
1961 is 辛丑 (Xīnchǒu)
Na yin — the sounding element
Earth on the Wall 壁上土
Plaster and earth bound into the walls of a house. Associated with support that holds a structure together — reliable, protective, and dependent on the frame around it.
1961 therefore carries metal from its stem and earth from its na yin. What na yin is →
Li Chun inside the year
An ordinary single-spring year
The two Li Chun dates around it are February 4, 1961 and February 4, 1962, Beijing time. The Ox year spans February 15, 1961 to February 4, 1962, so exactly one of them sits inside it. What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 1961 Ox
The 丑 branch puts a 1961 Ox opposite the Goat on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Goat year after it was 1967. Its harmony partner is the Rat, whose year came round 11 years later, in 1972. How the Ox and Goat get on →
Oxen born in 1961 turn 65 in 2026 — 66 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 1961
- Born January 1 – February 14, 1961: a Metal Rat, the animal of 1960.
- Born February 15, 1961 or later in the year: a Metal Ox.
This is one of the late new years: 45 days, from New Year's Day to February 14, still belong to the Rat. That is about one US birth in 8 (11.9%, SSA records 2000–2014). Check your exact date →
The Ox across the cycle
The animal returns every 12 years but the element every 60, so each of these years is a different Ox.
The lunar calendar of 1961
Why 355 days, and not 365
No month was doubled in 1961, so the year ended on February 4, 1962 after twelve months — seven long ones of 30 days and five short ones of 29, 355 days in all.
The 30-day months were the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th, 10th and 12th.
Festival dates in the 1961 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Wed, Mar 1, 1961 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Sat, Jun 17, 1961 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Thu, Aug 17, 1961 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Fri, Aug 25, 1961 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Sun, Sep 24, 1961 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Wed, Oct 18, 1961 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Fri, Dec 22, 1961 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Sat, Jan 13, 1962 |
The year's first full moon arrived at 9:34 PM on March 2, 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 7:33 PM Beijing time on September 24.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 1961
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 15 of the 110 new years in the table fall later in the calendar than February 15. Three other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 1949 began on January 29; twelve years later, 1973 began on February 3 — both marked in lavender with the other Ox years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 1961: Zodiac Year of the Metal Ox.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1961/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 1961: Zodiac Year of the Metal Ox |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1961/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}