Began February 20, 1985 · 354 days long
1985: year of the Wood Ox
The Ox year started on February 20, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 1985 before that date is a Rat.
- Opening new moon
- Feb 19, 1985 6:43 PM UTC
- In Beijing
- 2:43 AM Wed, Feb 20 · sets the date
- Year of the Ox
- 354 days 12 lunar months
- It ends
- Feb 9, 1986 12:55 AM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 1985: the new moon in your city
The Wood Ox year opened with the new moon at 6:43 PM UTC on February 19, 1985 — 2:43 AM on February 20 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 1:43 PM on February 19 in New York, 6:43 PM on February 19 in London and 5:43 AM on February 20 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Tue, Feb 19, 1985 |
| Honolulu United States | 8:43 AM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 9:43 AM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−9 |
| Los Angeles United States | 10:43 AM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 11:43 AM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 11:43 AM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 12:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 12:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 1:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 1:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 1:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 1:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 2:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−4 |
| Santiago Chile | 3:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−3 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 3:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 3:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC−3 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 6:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC |
| London United Kingdom | 6:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 7:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 7:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 7:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 8:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 8:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 8:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 8:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC+2 |
| Moscow Russia | 9:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 9:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 10:13 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 10:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 11:43 PM Tue, Feb 19, 1985 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 12:13 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 12:13 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+5:30 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 12:43 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 1:43 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 1:43 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+7 |
| Singapore | 2:43 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+8 |
| Beijing China | 2:43 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 2:43 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 2:43 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 3:43 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 3:43 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 5:13 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+10:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 4:43 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 5:43 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+11 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 7:43 AM Wed, Feb 20, 1985 · UTC+13 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 1985 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 Wood Ox personality
Anyone born from February 20, 1985 through February 8, 1986 is a Wood Ox: the yin wood stem 乙 over the 丑 branch.
Wood controls the Ox's own Earth in the five-element cycle, so the year's element pushes against the sign rather than with it. Wood brings growth, patience and cooperation — traditionally the most flexible version, one that expands rather than forces.
Stem and branch
1985 is 乙丑 (Yǐchǒu)
Na yin — the sounding element
Gold in the Sea 海中金
Metal lying deep under water: real worth that is not yet visible. Traditional readings give these years ability that needs time, or the right circumstances, to surface — value that is recognized late rather than early.
1985 therefore carries wood from its stem and metal 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, 1985 and February 4, 1986, Beijing time. The Ox year spans February 20, 1985 to February 8, 1986, so exactly one of them sits inside it. What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 1985 Ox
The 丑 branch puts a 1985 Ox opposite the Goat on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Goat year after it was 1991. Its harmony partner is the Rat, whose year came round 11 years later, in 1996. How the Ox and Goat get on →
Oxen born in 1985 turn 41 in 2026 — 42 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 1985
- Born January 1 – February 19, 1985: a Wood Rat, the animal of 1984.
- Born February 20, 1985 or later in the year: a Wood Ox.
This is one of the late new years: 50 days, from New Year's Day to February 19, still belong to the Rat. That is about one US birth in 8 (13.3%, SSA records 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 1985
Why 354 days, and not 365
No leap month this time: from February 20, 1985 to February 8, 1986, 1985 ran twelve months, six of 30 days and six of 29 — 354 days.
The 30-day months were the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th.
Festival dates in the 1985 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Wed, Mar 6, 1985 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Sat, Jun 22, 1985 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Thu, Aug 22, 1985 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Fri, Aug 30, 1985 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Sun, Sep 29, 1985 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Tue, Oct 22, 1985 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Sun, Dec 22, 1985 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Fri, Jan 17, 1986 |
The year's first full moon arrived at 10:13 AM on March 7, 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 8:08 AM Beijing time on September 29.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 1985
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.
February 20 1985 is the latest new-year date in the 110-year table. Twelve years earlier, 1973 began on February 3; twelve years later, 1997 began on February 7 — both marked in lavender with the other Ox years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 1985: Zodiac Year of the Wood Ox.” Accessed October 29, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1985/
For Wikipedia
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