Began January 25, 1963 · 384 days long
1963: year of the Water Rabbit
The Rabbit year started on January 25, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 1963 before that date is a Tiger.
- Opening new moon
- Jan 25, 1963 1:43 PM UTC
- In Beijing
- 9:43 PM Fri, Jan 25 · sets the date
- Year of the Rabbit
- 384 days 13 lunar months, one of them leap
- It ends
- Feb 13, 1964 1:02 PM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 1963: the new moon in your city
The Water Rabbit year opened with the new moon at 1:43 PM UTC on January 25, 1963 — 9:43 PM on January 25 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 8:43 AM on January 25 in New York, 1:43 PM on January 25 in London and 11:43 PM on January 25 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Fri, Jan 25, 1963 |
| Honolulu United States | 3:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 3:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−10 |
| Los Angeles United States | 5:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 6:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 6:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 7:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 7:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 8:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 8:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 8:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 8:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 9:13 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−4:30 |
| Santiago Chile | 9:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−4 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 10:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 10:43 AM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−3 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 12:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC−1 |
| London United Kingdom | 1:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 2:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 2:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 2:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 3:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 3:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 3:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 4:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+3 |
| Moscow Russia | 4:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 4:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 5:13 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 5:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 6:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 7:13 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 7:13 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+5:30 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 7:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 8:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 9:13 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+7:30 |
| Singapore | 9:13 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+7:30 |
| Beijing China | 9:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 9:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 9:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 10:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 10:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 11:13 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+9:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 11:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 11:43 PM Fri, Jan 25, 1963 · UTC+10 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 1:43 AM Sat, Jan 26, 1963 · UTC+12 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 1963 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 Rabbit personality
Anyone born from January 25, 1963 through February 12, 1964 is a Water Rabbit: the yin water stem 癸 over the 卯 branch.
Water feeds the Rabbit's own Wood in the five-element cycle, so this Rabbit is the best supported of the five. Water brings adaptability, perception and diplomacy — traditionally the most intuitive version, and the most easily influenced.
Stem and branch
1963 is 癸卯 (Guǐmǎo)
Na yin — the sounding element
Gold Leaf 金箔金
Gold beaten into thin sheets for decoration. Readings describe polish and presentation — something precious spread thin, beautiful when applied, and delicate on its own.
1963 therefore carries water from its stem and metal from its na yin. What na yin is →
Li Chun inside the year
A double spring year
The two Li Chun dates around it are February 4, 1963 and February 5, 1964, Beijing time. The Rabbit year spans January 25, 1963 to February 12, 1964, so both dates sit inside it: a double spring year (双春). What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 1963 Rabbit
The 卯 branch puts a 1963 Rabbit opposite the Rooster on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Rooster year after it was 1969. Its harmony partner is the Dog, whose year came round 7 years later, in 1970. How the Rabbit and Rooster get on →
Rabbits born in 1963 turn 63 in 2026 — 64 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 1963
- Born January 1 – January 24, 1963: a Water Tiger, the animal of 1962.
- Born January 25, 1963 or later in the year: a Water Rabbit.
Only the first 24 days of 1963 belong to the Tiger, yet a year-only calculator still calls them Rabbits. Those dates hold 6.3% of US births (SSA, 2000–2014). Check your exact date →
The Rabbit across the cycle
The animal returns every 12 years but the element every 60, so each of these years is a different Rabbit.
The lunar calendar of 1963
Why 384 days, and not 365
1963 repeated its fourth month: the leap month 闰四月 ran from May 23 to June 20 and stretched the year to 384 days. Seven of the 13 months had 30 days.
The 30-day months were the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th and 11th. Three 30-day months ran back to back, from month 9 to month 11.
Festival dates in the 1963 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Fri, Feb 8, 1963 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Tue, Jun 25, 1963 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Sun, Aug 25, 1963 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Mon, Sep 2, 1963 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Wed, Oct 2, 1963 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Fri, Oct 25, 1963 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Sun, Dec 22, 1963 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Wed, Jan 22, 1964 |
At the Lantern Festival on February 8 the year's first full moon came that same day, at 10:51 PM Beijing time. The festival night of October 2 fell a day before the true full moon, which came at 12:43 PM Beijing time on October 3 — lunar day 16.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 1963
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 thirteen of the 110 new years in the table fall earlier in the calendar than January 25. Three other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 1951 began on February 6; twelve years later, 1975 began on February 11 — both marked in lavender with the other Rabbit years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 1963: Zodiac Year of the Water Rabbit.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1963/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 1963: Zodiac Year of the Water Rabbit |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1963/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}