Hey everyone, I’m back! Today, I want to share something I did recently that was pretty fun – figuring out all the Chinese zodiac animals for 2021.
Getting Started
First, I grabbed a regular 2021 calendar, the kind you hang on the wall. I also pulled up a Chinese calendar online since those show both the regular dates and the lunar dates.

Marking the Lunar New Year
The first thing I did was find the Chinese New Year date. In 2021, it was February 12th. I circled that date on my wall calendar in big, bold marker. That’s the most important date, the start of the Year of the Ox.
Filling in the Ox
Now, the fun part! Since 2021 was the Year of the Ox, I wrote “Ox” next to every date from February 12th all the way to the end of the year. That was easy, the whole period from lunar new year to the next lunar new year was all Ox.
Working Backwards
Then, I went backwards from February 12th. The animal before the Ox is the Rat. So, I wrote “Rat” next to all the dates from January 1st to February 11th. I just looked up the order of the animals online, it is pretty easy to find that information.
Double-Checking
I wanted to be sure, so I double-checked a few dates around the lunar new year using the online Chinese calendar. It matched up perfectly – February 11th was still the Year of the Rat, and February 12th switched over to the Ox.
All Done!
And that’s it! I now had a regular 2021 calendar with all the Chinese zodiac animals filled in. It was a fun little project, and now I know exactly what animal corresponds to each date in 2021. It’s really satisfying to look at my marked-up calendar. You guys should try it sometime! If you get a little stuck, feel free to ask me – I can walk you through it, no problem.