Began January 31, 1976 · 384 days long
1976: year of the Fire Dragon
The Dragon year started on January 31, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 1976 before that date is a Rabbit.
- Opening new moon
- Jan 31, 1976 6:20 AM UTC
- In Beijing
- 2:20 PM Sat, Jan 31 · sets the date
- Year of the Dragon
- 384 days 13 lunar months, one of them leap
- It ends
- Feb 18, 1977 3:37 AM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 1976: the new moon in your city
The Fire Dragon year opened with the new moon at 6:20 AM UTC on January 31, 1976 — 2:20 PM on January 31 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 1:20 AM on January 31 in New York, 6:20 AM on January 31 in London and 5:20 PM on January 31 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Sat, Jan 31, 1976 |
| Honolulu United States | 8:20 PM Fri, Jan 30, 1976 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 8:20 PM Fri, Jan 30, 1976 · UTC−10 |
| Los Angeles United States | 10:20 PM Fri, Jan 30, 1976 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 11:20 PM Fri, Jan 30, 1976 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 11:20 PM Fri, Jan 30, 1976 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 12:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 12:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 1:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 1:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 1:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 1:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 2:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC−4 |
| Santiago Chile | 3:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC−3 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 3:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 3:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC−3 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 6:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC |
| London United Kingdom | 6:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 7:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 7:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 7:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 8:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 8:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 8:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 8:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+2 |
| Moscow Russia | 9:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 9:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 9:50 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 10:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 11:20 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 11:50 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 11:50 AM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+5:30 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 12:20 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 1:20 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 1:20 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+7 |
| Singapore | 1:50 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+7:30 |
| Beijing China | 2:20 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 2:20 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 2:20 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 3:20 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 3:20 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 4:50 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+10:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 4:20 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 5:20 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+11 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 7:20 PM Sat, Jan 31, 1976 · UTC+13 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 1976 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 Dragon personality
Anyone born from January 31, 1976 through February 17, 1977 is a Fire Dragon: the yang fire stem 丙 over the 辰 branch.
Fire feeds the Dragon's own Earth in the five-element cycle, so this Dragon is the best supported of the five. Fire brings intensity, visibility and speed — traditionally the most driven version, and the quickest to burn through its own energy.
Stem and branch
1976 is 丙辰 (Bǐngchén)
Na yin — the sounding element
Earth in the Sand 沙中土
Loose earth mixed with sand. Readings describe adaptability and potential that needs binding — ground that can be shaped into something firm with the right support.
1976 therefore carries fire from its stem and earth 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 5, 1976 and February 4, 1977, Beijing time. The Dragon year spans January 31, 1976 to February 17, 1977, so both dates sit inside it: a double spring year (双春). What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 1976 Dragon
The 辰 branch puts a 1976 Dragon opposite the Dog on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Dog year after it was 1982. Its harmony partner is the Rooster, whose year came round 5 years later, in 1981. How the Dragon and Dog get on →
Dragons born in 1976 turn 50 in 2026 — 51 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 1976
- Born January 1 – January 30, 1976: a Wood Rabbit, the animal of 1975.
- Born January 31, 1976 or later in the year: a Fire Dragon.
A year-only calculator mislabels 30 days of 1976, everything from January 1 to January 30. Roughly one US birth in 13 falls on those dates — 7.9% in SSA records for 2000–2014. Check your exact date →
The Dragon across the cycle
The animal returns every 12 years but the element every 60, so each of these years is a different Dragon.
The lunar calendar of 1976
Why 384 days, and not 365
1976 repeated its eighth month: the leap month 闰八月 ran from September 24 to October 22 and stretched the year to 384 days. Seven of the 13 months had 30 days.
The 30-day months were the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th.
Festival dates in the 1976 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Sat, Feb 14, 1976 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Wed, Jun 2, 1976 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Mon, Aug 2, 1976 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Tue, Aug 10, 1976 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Wed, Sep 8, 1976 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Sun, Oct 31, 1976 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Wed, Dec 22, 1976 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Wed, Jan 26, 1977 |
The year's first full moon arrived at 12:43 AM on February 16, two days 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 8:52 PM Beijing time on September 8.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 1976
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, 1976 sits mid-table: of the 110 new years, 34 fall earlier in the calendar and 70 later. Five other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 1964 began on February 13; twelve years later, 1988 began on February 17 — both marked in lavender with the other Dragon years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 1976: Zodiac Year of the Fire Dragon.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1976/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 1976: Zodiac Year of the Fire Dragon |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1976/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}