Began January 21, 1966 · 384 days long
1966: year of the Fire Horse
The Horse year started on January 21, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 1966 before that date is a Snake.
- Opening new moon
- Jan 21, 1966 3:47 PM UTC
- In Beijing
- 11:47 PM Fri, Jan 21 · sets the date
- Year of the Horse
- 384 days 13 lunar months, one of them leap
- It ends
- Feb 9, 1967 10:45 AM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 1966: the new moon in your city
The Fire Horse year opened with the new moon at 3:47 PM UTC on January 21, 1966 — 11:47 PM on January 21 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 10:47 AM on January 21 in New York, 3:47 PM on January 21 in London and 1:47 AM on January 22 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Fri, Jan 21, 1966 |
| Honolulu United States | 5:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 5:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−10 |
| Los Angeles United States | 7:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 8:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 8:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 9:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 9:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 10:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 10:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 10:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 10:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 11:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−4 |
| Santiago Chile | 11:47 AM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−4 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 12:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 1:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−2 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 2:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC−1 |
| London United Kingdom | 3:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 4:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 4:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 4:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 5:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 5:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 5:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 5:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+2 |
| Moscow Russia | 6:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 6:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 7:17 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 7:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 8:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 9:17 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 9:17 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+5:30 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 9:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 10:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 10:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+7 |
| Singapore | 11:17 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+7:30 |
| Beijing China | 11:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 11:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 11:47 PM Fri, Jan 21, 1966 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 12:47 AM Sat, Jan 22, 1966 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 12:47 AM Sat, Jan 22, 1966 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 1:17 AM Sat, Jan 22, 1966 · UTC+9:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 1:47 AM Sat, Jan 22, 1966 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 1:47 AM Sat, Jan 22, 1966 · UTC+10 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 3:47 AM Sat, Jan 22, 1966 · UTC+12 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 1966 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 Fire Horse personality
Anyone born from January 21, 1966 through February 8, 1967 is a Fire Horse: the yang fire stem 丙 over the 午 branch.
Fire is already the Horse's own element, so here it is doubled and everything typical of the sign runs at full strength. Of the five Horses this is the most independent, and the least inclined to compromise.
Stem and branch
1966 is 丙午 (Bǐngwǔ)
Na yin — the sounding element
Water of the Heavenly River 天河水
Rain, and the Milky Way seen as a river in the sky. Traditionally the most generous water image — nourishment that falls on everyone, unowned and far-reaching.
1966 therefore carries fire from its stem and water 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, 1966 and February 4, 1967, Beijing time. The Horse year spans January 21, 1966 to February 8, 1967, so both dates sit inside it: a double spring year (双春). What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 1966 Horse
The 午 branch puts a 1966 Horse opposite the Rat on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Rat year after it was 1972. Its harmony partner is the Goat, whose year followed straight after, in 1967. How the Horse and Rat get on →
Horses born in 1966 turn 60 in 2026 — 61 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 1966
- Born January 1 – January 20, 1966: a Wood Snake, the animal of 1965.
- Born January 21, 1966 or later in the year: a Fire Horse.
Only the first 20 days of 1966 belong to the Snake, yet a year-only calculator still calls them Horses. Those dates hold 5.2% of US births (SSA, 2000–2014). Check your exact date →
The Horse across the cycle
The animal returns every 12 years but the element every 60, so each of these years is a different Horse.
The lunar calendar of 1966
Why 384 days, and not 365
1966 repeated its third month: the leap month 闰三月 ran from April 21 to May 19 and stretched the year to 384 days. Seven of the 13 months had 30 days.
The 30-day months were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 10th and 11th. Three 30-day months ran back to back, from month 1 to month 3.
Festival dates in the 1966 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Fri, Feb 4, 1966 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Thu, Jun 23, 1966 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Mon, Aug 22, 1966 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Tue, Aug 30, 1966 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Thu, Sep 29, 1966 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Sat, Oct 22, 1966 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Thu, Dec 22, 1966 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Wed, Jan 18, 1967 |
The year's first full moon arrived at 11:57 PM on February 5, the day after the Lantern Festival. The festival night of September 29 fell a day before the true full moon, which came at 12:47 AM Beijing time on September 30 — 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 1966
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.
January 21 1966 is the earliest new-year date in the 110-year table. Twelve years earlier, 1954 began on February 3; twelve years later, 1978 began on February 7 — both marked in lavender with the other Horse years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 1966: Zodiac Year of the Fire Horse.” Accessed October 29, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1966/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 1966: Zodiac Year of the Fire Horse |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1966/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-29}}