Began February 3, 1973 · 354 days long
1973: year of the Water Ox
The Ox year started on February 3, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 1973 before that date is a Rat.
- Opening new moon
- Feb 3, 1973 9:23 AM UTC
- In Beijing
- 5:23 PM Sat, Feb 3 · sets the date
- Year of the Ox
- 354 days 12 lunar months
- It ends
- Jan 23, 1974 11:02 AM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 1973: the new moon in your city
The Water Ox year opened with the new moon at 9:23 AM UTC on February 3, 1973 — 5:23 PM on February 3 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 4:23 AM on February 3 in New York, 9:23 AM on February 3 in London and 8:23 PM on February 3 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Sat, Feb 3, 1973 |
| Honolulu United States | 11:23 PM Fri, Feb 2, 1973 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 11:23 PM Fri, Feb 2, 1973 · UTC−10 |
| Los Angeles United States | 1:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 2:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 2:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 3:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 3:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 4:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 4:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 4:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 4:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 5:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−4 |
| Santiago Chile | 6:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−3 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 6:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 6:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC−3 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 9:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC |
| London United Kingdom | 9:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 10:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 10:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 10:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 11:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 11:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 11:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 11:23 AM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+2 |
| Moscow Russia | 12:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 12:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 12:53 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 1:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 2:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 2:53 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 2:53 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+5:30 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 3:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 4:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 4:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+7 |
| Singapore | 4:53 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+7:30 |
| Beijing China | 5:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 5:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 5:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 6:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 6:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 7:53 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+10:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 7:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 8:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+11 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 9:23 PM Sat, Feb 3, 1973 · UTC+12 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 1973 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 Ox personality
Anyone born from February 3, 1973 through January 22, 1974 is a Water Ox: the yin water stem 癸 over the 丑 branch.
The Ox's own Earth controls Water here, so the sign keeps the upper hand over the year's element. Water brings adaptability, perception and diplomacy — traditionally the most intuitive version, and the most easily influenced.
Stem and branch
1973 is 癸丑 (Guǐchǒu)
Na yin — the sounding element
Mulberry Wood 桑柘木
The mulberry, whose leaves feed silkworms. The image is quiet productivity: a plant valued not for itself but for what it makes possible for others.
1973 therefore carries water from its stem and wood 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, 1973 and February 4, 1974, Beijing time. The Ox year spans February 3, 1973 to January 22, 1974, so exactly one of them sits inside it. What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 1973 Ox
The 丑 branch puts a 1973 Ox opposite the Goat on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Goat year after it was 1979. Its harmony partner is the Rat, whose year came round 11 years later, in 1984. How the Ox and Goat get on →
Oxen born in 1973 turn 53 in 2026 — 54 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 1973
- Born January 1 – February 2, 1973: a Water Rat, the animal of 1972.
- Born February 3, 1973 or later in the year: a Water Ox.
A year-only calculator mislabels 33 days of 1973, everything from January 1 to February 2. Roughly one US birth in 11 falls on those dates — 8.7% in SSA records for 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 1973
Why 354 days, and not 365
No leap month this time: from February 3, 1973 to January 22, 1974, 1973 ran twelve months, six of 30 days and six of 29 — 354 days.
The 30-day months were the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th, 10th and 12th.
Festival dates in the 1973 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Sat, Feb 17, 1973 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Tue, Jun 5, 1973 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Sun, Aug 5, 1973 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Mon, Aug 13, 1973 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Tue, Sep 11, 1973 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Thu, Oct 4, 1973 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Sat, Dec 22, 1973 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Mon, Dec 31, 1973 |
At the Lantern Festival on February 17 the year's first full moon came that same day, at 6:06 PM Beijing time. The festival night of September 11 fell a day before the true full moon, which came at 11:16 PM Beijing time on September 12 — 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 1973
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.
By date, 1973 sits mid-table: of the 110 new years, 46 fall earlier in the calendar and 60 later. Three other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 1961 began on February 15; twelve years later, 1985 began on February 20 — both marked in lavender with the other Ox years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 1973: Zodiac Year of the Water Ox.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1973/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 1973: Zodiac Year of the Water Ox |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1973/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}