Began January 22, 2023 · 384 days long
2023: year of the Water Rabbit
The Rabbit year started on January 22, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 2023 before that date is a Tiger.
- Opening new moon
- Jan 21, 2023 8:53 PM UTC
- In Beijing
- 4:53 AM Sun, Jan 22 · sets the date
- Year of the Rabbit
- 384 days 13 lunar months, one of them leap
- It ends
- Feb 9, 2024 10:59 PM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 2023: the new moon in your city
The Water Rabbit year opened with the new moon at 8:53 PM UTC on January 21, 2023 — 4:53 AM on January 22 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 3:53 PM on January 21 in New York, 8:53 PM on January 21 in London and 7:53 AM on January 22 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Sat, Jan 21, 2023 |
| Honolulu United States | 10:53 AM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 11:53 AM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−9 |
| Los Angeles United States | 12:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 1:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 1:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 2:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 2:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 3:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 3:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 3:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 3:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 4:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−4 |
| Santiago Chile | 5:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−3 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 5:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 5:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC−3 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 8:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC |
| London United Kingdom | 8:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 9:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 9:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 9:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 10:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 10:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 10:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 11:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC+3 |
| Moscow Russia | 11:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 11:53 PM Sat, Jan 21, 2023 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 12:23 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 12:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 1:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 2:23 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 2:38 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+5:45 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 2:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 3:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 3:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+7 |
| Singapore | 4:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+8 |
| Beijing China | 4:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 4:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 4:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 5:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 5:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 7:23 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+10:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 6:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 7:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+11 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 9:53 AM Sun, Jan 22, 2023 · UTC+13 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 2023 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 Rabbit personality
Anyone born from January 22, 2023 through February 9, 2024 is a Water Rabbit: the yin water stem 癸 over the 卯 branch.
Water feeds the Rabbit's own Wood in the five-element cycle, so this Rabbit is the best supported of the five. Water brings adaptability, perception and diplomacy — traditionally the most intuitive version, and the most easily influenced.
Stem and branch
2023 is 癸卯 (Guǐmǎo)
Na yin — the sounding element
Gold Leaf 金箔金
Gold beaten into thin sheets for decoration. Readings describe polish and presentation — something precious spread thin, beautiful when applied, and delicate on its own.
2023 therefore carries water from its stem and metal 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 4, 2023 and February 4, 2024, Beijing time. The Rabbit year spans January 22, 2023 to February 9, 2024, so both dates sit inside it: a double spring year (双春). What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 2023 Rabbit
The 卯 branch puts a 2023 Rabbit opposite the Rooster on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Rooster year after it is 2029. Its harmony partner is the Dog, due 7 years later, in 2030. How the Rabbit and Rooster get on →
Rabbits born in 2023 turn 3 in 2026 — 4 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 2023
- Born January 1 – January 21, 2023: a Water Tiger, the animal of 2022.
- Born January 22, 2023 or later in the year: a Water Rabbit.
Only the first 21 days of 2023 belong to the Tiger, yet a year-only calculator still calls them Rabbits. Those dates hold 5.5% of US births (SSA, 2000–2014). Check your exact date →
The Rabbit across the cycle
The animal returns every 12 years but the element every 60, so each of these years is a different Rabbit.
The lunar calendar of 2023
Why 384 days, and not 365
2023 repeated its second month: the leap month 闰二月 ran from March 22 to April 19 and stretched the year to 384 days. Seven of the 13 months had 30 days.
The 30-day months were the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 10th and 12th.
Festival dates in the 2023 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Sun, Feb 5, 2023 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Thu, Jun 22, 2023 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Tue, Aug 22, 2023 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Wed, Aug 30, 2023 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Fri, Sep 29, 2023 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Mon, Oct 23, 2023 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Fri, Dec 22, 2023 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Thu, Jan 18, 2024 |
The year's first full moon arrived at 2:28 AM on February 6, 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 5:57 PM 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 2023
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 one of the 110 new years in the table fall earlier in the calendar than January 22. Two other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 2011 began on February 3 — marked in lavender with the other Rabbit years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 2023: Zodiac Year of the Water Rabbit.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/2023/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 2023: Zodiac Year of the Water Rabbit |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/2023/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}