Began February 17, 1969 · 354 days long
1969: year of the Earth Rooster
The Rooster year started on February 17, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 1969 before that date is a Monkey.
- Opening new moon
- Feb 16, 1969 4:26 PM UTC
- In Beijing
- 12:26 AM Mon, Feb 17 · sets the date
- Year of the Rooster
- 354 days 12 lunar months
- It ends
- Feb 6, 1970 7:13 AM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 1969: the new moon in your city
The Earth Rooster year opened with the new moon at 4:26 PM UTC on February 16, 1969 — 12:26 AM on February 17 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 11:26 AM on February 16 in New York, 5:26 PM on February 16 in London and 2:26 AM on February 17 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Sun, Feb 16, 1969 |
| Honolulu United States | 6:26 AM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 6:26 AM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−10 |
| Los Angeles United States | 8:26 AM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 9:26 AM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 9:26 AM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 10:26 AM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 10:26 AM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 11:26 AM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 11:26 AM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 11:26 AM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 11:26 AM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 12:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−4 |
| Santiago Chile | 1:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−3 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 1:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 1:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC−3 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 4:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC |
| London United Kingdom | 5:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+1 |
| Lagos Nigeria | 5:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 5:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 5:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 6:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 6:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 6:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 6:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+2 |
| Moscow Russia | 7:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 7:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 7:56 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 8:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 9:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 9:56 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 9:56 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+5:30 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 10:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 11:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 11:26 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+7 |
| Singapore | 11:56 PM Sun, Feb 16, 1969 · UTC+7:30 |
| Beijing China | 12:26 AM Mon, Feb 17, 1969 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 12:26 AM Mon, Feb 17, 1969 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 12:26 AM Mon, Feb 17, 1969 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 1:26 AM Mon, Feb 17, 1969 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 1:26 AM Mon, Feb 17, 1969 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 1:56 AM Mon, Feb 17, 1969 · UTC+9:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 2:26 AM Mon, Feb 17, 1969 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 2:26 AM Mon, Feb 17, 1969 · UTC+10 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 4:26 AM Mon, Feb 17, 1969 · UTC+12 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 1969 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 Earth Rooster personality
Anyone born from February 17, 1969 through February 5, 1970 is an Earth Rooster: the yin earth stem 己 over the 酉 branch.
Earth feeds the Rooster's own Metal in the five-element cycle, so this Rooster is the best supported of the five. Earth brings steadiness, practicality and patience — traditionally the most reliable version, and the slowest to change direction.
Stem and branch
1969 is 己酉 (Jǐyǒu)
Na yin — the sounding element
Earth of the Great Post Road 大驛土
The broad road of the imperial courier system. Associated with connection, travel and carrying messages — ground that links distant places.
1969 therefore carries earth from its stem and earth from its na yin — the same element twice. What na yin is →
Li Chun inside the year
An ordinary single-spring year
The two Li Chun dates around it are February 4, 1969 and February 4, 1970, Beijing time. The Rooster year spans February 17, 1969 to February 5, 1970, so exactly one of them sits inside it. What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 1969 Rooster
The 酉 branch puts a 1969 Rooster opposite the Rabbit on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Rabbit year after it was 1975. Its harmony partner is the Dragon, whose year came round 7 years later, in 1976. How the Rooster and Rabbit get on →
Roosters born in 1969 turn 57 in 2026 — 58 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 1969
- Born January 1 – February 16, 1969: an Earth Monkey, the animal of 1968.
- Born February 17, 1969 or later in the year: an Earth Rooster.
This is one of the late new years: 47 days, from New Year's Day to February 16, still belong to the Monkey. That is about one US birth in 8 (12.5%, SSA records 2000–2014). Check your exact date →
The Rooster across the cycle
The animal returns every 12 years but the element every 60, so each of these years is a different Rooster.
The lunar calendar of 1969
Why 354 days, and not 365
No leap month this time: from February 17, 1969 to February 5, 1970, 1969 ran twelve months, six of 30 days and six of 29 — 354 days.
The 30-day months were the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th and 11th.
Festival dates in the 1969 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Mon, Mar 3, 1969 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Thu, Jun 19, 1969 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Tue, Aug 19, 1969 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Wed, Aug 27, 1969 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Fri, Sep 26, 1969 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Sun, Oct 19, 1969 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Mon, Dec 22, 1969 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Thu, Jan 15, 1970 |
The year's first full moon arrived at 1:17 PM on March 4, 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 4:20 AM Beijing time on September 26.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 1969
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 seven of the 110 new years in the table fall later in the calendar than February 17. Four other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 1957 began on January 31; twelve years later, 1981 began on February 5 — both marked in lavender with the other Rooster years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 1969: Zodiac Year of the Earth Rooster.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1969/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 1969: Zodiac Year of the Earth Rooster |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1969/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}