Began February 10, 2024 · 354 days long
2024: year of the Wood Dragon
The Dragon year started on February 10, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 2024 before that date is a Rabbit.
- Opening new moon
- Feb 9, 2024 10:59 PM UTC
- In Beijing
- 6:59 AM Sat, Feb 10 · sets the date
- Year of the Dragon
- 354 days 12 lunar months
- It ends
- Jan 29, 2025 12:36 PM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 2024: the new moon in your city
The Wood Dragon year opened with the new moon at 10:59 PM UTC on February 9, 2024 — 6:59 AM on February 10 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 5:59 PM on February 9 in New York, 10:59 PM on February 9 in London and 9:59 AM on February 10 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Fri, Feb 9, 2024 |
| Honolulu United States | 12:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 1:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−9 |
| Los Angeles United States | 2:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 3:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 3:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 4:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 4:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 5:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 5:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 5:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 5:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 6:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−4 |
| Santiago Chile | 7:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−3 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 7:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 7:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC−3 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 10:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC |
| London United Kingdom | 10:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 11:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 11:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 11:59 PM Fri, Feb 9, 2024 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 12:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 12:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 12:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 1:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+3 |
| Moscow Russia | 1:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 1:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 2:29 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 2:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 3:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 4:29 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 4:44 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+5:45 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 4:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 5:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 5:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+7 |
| Singapore | 6:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+8 |
| Beijing China | 6:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 6:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 6:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 7:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 7:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 9:29 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+10:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 8:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 9:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+11 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 11:59 AM Sat, Feb 10, 2024 · UTC+13 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 2024 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 Dragon personality
Anyone born from February 10, 2024 through January 28, 2025 is a Wood Dragon: the yang wood stem 甲 over the 辰 branch.
Wood controls the Dragon'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
2024 is 甲辰 (Jiǎchén)
Na yin — the sounding element
Lamp Fire 覆燈火
The flame of a covered lamp. The image is light for a small space: steady illumination that guides others at close range and needs protection from wind.
2024 therefore carries wood from its stem and fire from its na yin. 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, 2024 and February 3, 2025, Beijing time. The Dragon year spans February 10, 2024 to January 28, 2025, so neither date sits inside it: a blind year (无春年). What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 2024 Dragon
The 辰 branch puts a 2024 Dragon opposite the Dog on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Dog year after it is 2030. Its harmony partner is the Rooster, due 5 years later, in 2029. How the Dragon and Dog get on →
Dragons born in 2024 turn 2 in 2026 — 3 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 2024
- Born January 1 – February 9, 2024: a Water Rabbit, the animal of 2023.
- Born February 10, 2024 or later in the year: a Wood Dragon.
A year-only calculator mislabels 40 days of 2024, 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 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 2024
Why 354 days, and not 365
No leap month this time: from February 10, 2024 to January 28, 2025, 2024 ran twelve months, six of 30 days and six of 29 — 354 days.
The 30-day months were the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 8th, 10th and 11th.
Festival dates in the 2024 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Sat, Feb 24, 2024 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Mon, Jun 10, 2024 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Sat, Aug 10, 2024 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Sun, Aug 18, 2024 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Tue, Sep 17, 2024 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Fri, Oct 11, 2024 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Sat, Dec 21, 2024 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Tue, Jan 7, 2025 |
At the Lantern Festival on February 24 the year's first full moon came that same day, at 8:30 PM Beijing time. The festival night of September 17 fell a day before the true full moon, which came at 10:34 AM Beijing time on September 18 — lunar day 16.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 2024
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, 2024 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, 2012 began on January 23 — marked in lavender with the other Dragon years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 2024: Zodiac Year of the Wood Dragon.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/2024/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 2024: Zodiac Year of the Wood Dragon |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/2024/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}