Began January 23, 2012 · 384 days long
2012: year of the Water Dragon
The Dragon year started on January 23, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 2012 before that date is a Rabbit.
- Opening new moon
- Jan 23, 2012 7:39 AM UTC
- In Beijing
- 3:39 PM Mon, Jan 23 · sets the date
- Year of the Dragon
- 384 days 13 lunar months, one of them leap
- It ends
- Feb 10, 2013 7:20 AM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 2012: the new moon in your city
The Water Dragon year opened with the new moon at 7:39 AM UTC on January 23, 2012 — 3:39 PM on January 23 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 2:39 AM on January 23 in New York, 7:39 AM on January 23 in London and 6:39 PM on January 23 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Mon, Jan 23, 2012 |
| Honolulu United States | 9:39 PM Sun, Jan 22, 2012 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 10:39 PM Sun, Jan 22, 2012 · UTC−9 |
| Los Angeles United States | 11:39 PM Sun, Jan 22, 2012 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 12:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 12:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 1:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 1:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 2:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 2:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 2:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 2:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 3:09 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC−4:30 |
| Santiago Chile | 4:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC−3 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 4:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 5:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC−2 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 7:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC |
| London United Kingdom | 7:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 8:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 8:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 8:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 9:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 9:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 9:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 9:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+2 |
| Moscow Russia | 11:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+4 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 10:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 11:09 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 11:39 AM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 12:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 1:09 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 1:24 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+5:45 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 1:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 2:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 2:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+7 |
| Singapore | 3:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+8 |
| Beijing China | 3:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 3:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 3:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 4:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 4:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 6:09 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+10:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 5:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 6:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+11 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 8:39 PM Mon, Jan 23, 2012 · UTC+13 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 2012 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 Dragon personality
Anyone born from January 23, 2012 through February 9, 2013 is a Water Dragon: the yang water stem 壬 over the 辰 branch.
The Dragon'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
2012 is 壬辰 (Rénchén)
Na yin — the sounding element
Long-flowing Water 長流水
A great river that keeps moving. The image is continuity and patience: progress measured over distance, with the ability to carry a great deal without stopping.
2012 therefore carries water from its stem and water from its na yin — the same element twice. What na yin is →
Li Chun inside the year
A double spring year
The two Li Chun dates around it are February 4, 2012 and February 4, 2013, Beijing time. The Dragon year spans January 23, 2012 to February 9, 2013, so both dates sit inside it: a double spring year (双春). What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 2012 Dragon
The 辰 branch puts a 2012 Dragon opposite the Dog on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Dog year after it was 2018. Its harmony partner is the Rooster, whose year came round 5 years later, in 2017. How the Dragon and Dog get on →
Dragons born in 2012 turn 14 in 2026 — 15 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 2012
- Born January 1 – January 22, 2012: a Metal Rabbit, the animal of 2011.
- Born January 23, 2012 or later in the year: a Water Dragon.
Only the first 22 days of 2012 belong to the Rabbit, yet a year-only calculator still calls them Dragons. Those dates hold 5.8% of US births (SSA, 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 2012
Why 384 days, and not 365
2012 repeated its fourth month: the leap month 闰四月 ran from May 21 to June 18 and stretched the year to 384 days. Seven of the 13 months had 30 days.
The 30-day months were the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th.
Festival dates in the 2012 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Mon, Feb 6, 2012 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Sat, Jun 23, 2012 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Thu, Aug 23, 2012 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Fri, Aug 31, 2012 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Sun, Sep 30, 2012 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Tue, Oct 23, 2012 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Fri, Dec 21, 2012 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Sat, Jan 19, 2013 |
The year's first full moon arrived at 5:53 AM on February 8, 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 11:18 AM Beijing time on September 30.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 2012
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 four of the 110 new years in the table fall earlier in the calendar than January 23. Four other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 2000 began on February 5; twelve years later, 2024 began on February 10 — both marked in lavender with the other Dragon years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 2012: Zodiac Year of the Water Dragon.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/2012/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 2012: Zodiac Year of the Water Dragon |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/2012/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}