Began February 10, 2013 · 355 days long
2013: year of the Water Snake
The Snake year started on February 10, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 2013 before that date is a Dragon.
- Opening new moon
- Feb 10, 2013 7:20 AM UTC
- In Beijing
- 3:20 PM Sun, Feb 10 · sets the date
- Year of the Snake
- 355 days 12 lunar months
- It ends
- Jan 30, 2014 9:39 PM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 2013: the new moon in your city
The Water Snake year opened with the new moon at 7:20 AM UTC on February 10, 2013 — 3:20 PM on February 10 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 2:20 AM on February 10 in New York, 7:20 AM on February 10 in London and 6:20 PM on February 10 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Sun, Feb 10, 2013 |
| Honolulu United States | 9:20 PM Sat, Feb 9, 2013 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 10:20 PM Sat, Feb 9, 2013 · UTC−9 |
| Los Angeles United States | 11:20 PM Sat, Feb 9, 2013 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 12:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 12:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 1:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 1:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 2:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 2:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 2:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 2:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 2:50 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC−4:30 |
| Santiago Chile | 4:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC−3 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 4:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 5:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC−2 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 7:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC |
| London United Kingdom | 7:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 8:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 8:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 8:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 9:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 9:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 9:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 9:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+2 |
| Moscow Russia | 11:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+4 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 10:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 10:50 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 11:20 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 12:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 12:50 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 1:05 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+5:45 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 1:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 2:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 2:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+7 |
| Singapore | 3:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+8 |
| Beijing China | 3:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 3:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 3:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 4:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 4:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 5:50 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+10:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 5:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 6:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+11 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 8:20 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2013 · UTC+13 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 2013 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 Snake personality
Anyone born from February 10, 2013 through January 30, 2014 is a Water Snake: the yin water stem 癸 over the 巳 branch.
Water controls the Snake's own Fire in the five-element cycle, so the year's element pushes against the sign rather than with it. Water brings adaptability, perception and diplomacy — traditionally the most intuitive version, and the most easily influenced.
Stem and branch
2013 is 癸巳 (Guǐsì)
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.
2013 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 "blind" year with no spring
The two Li Chun dates around it are February 4, 2013 and February 4, 2014, Beijing time. The Snake year spans February 10, 2013 to January 30, 2014, so neither date sits inside it: a blind year (无春年). What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 2013 Snake
The 巳 branch puts a 2013 Snake opposite the Pig on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Pig year after it was 2019. Its harmony partner is the Monkey, whose year came round 3 years later, in 2016. How the Snake and Pig get on →
Snakes born in 2013 turn 13 in 2026 — 14 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 2013
- Born January 1 – February 9, 2013: a Water Dragon, the animal of 2012.
- Born February 10, 2013 or later in the year: a Water Snake.
A year-only calculator mislabels 40 days of 2013, everything from January 1 to February 9. That is about one US birth in 9 (10.6%, SSA records 2000–2014). Check your exact date →
The Snake across the cycle
The animal returns every 12 years but the element every 60, so each of these years is a different Snake.
The lunar calendar of 2013
Why 355 days, and not 365
No month was doubled in 2013, so the year ended on January 30, 2014 after twelve months — seven long ones of 30 days and five short ones of 29, 355 days in all.
The 30-day months were the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th.
Festival dates in the 2013 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Sun, Feb 24, 2013 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Wed, Jun 12, 2013 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Tue, Aug 13, 2013 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Wed, Aug 21, 2013 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Thu, Sep 19, 2013 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Sun, Oct 13, 2013 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Sun, Dec 22, 2013 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Wed, Jan 8, 2014 |
The year's first full moon arrived at 4:26 AM on February 26, 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 7:12 PM Beijing time on September 19.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 2013
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, 2013 sits mid-table: of the 110 new years, 72 fall earlier in the calendar and 33 later. Four other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 2001 began on January 24; twelve years later, 2025 began on January 29 — both marked in lavender with the other Snake years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 2013: Zodiac Year of the Water Snake.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/2013/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 2013: Zodiac Year of the Water Snake |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/2013/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}