Okay, so the other day I was trying to figure out what my Chinese zodiac animal was for the year 1996. It’s not as simple as just knowing your birth year, you know? You gotta take the lunar calendar into account, which is a whole different beast…pun intended!
First, I grabbed my phone and opened up my browser. I typed in “Chinese zodiac calendar 1996” and hit enter. I scrolled through a bunch of websites, some of which looked a little sketchy, to be honest. Finally, I found one that looked pretty reliable and easy to understand.
It showed a big table with all the years and the corresponding animals and elements. I learned that the Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year cycle, with each year represented by an animal: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. And to make it even more complicated, there are five elements that rotate too: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
Figuring Out the Dates
The tricky part is that the Chinese New Year doesn’t start on January 1st. It shifts around depending on the lunar cycle, usually falling between late January and mid-February. So, I needed to find the exact date for Chinese New Year in 1996.
- The website I found conveniently listed the start and end dates for each zodiac year.
- For 1996, I saw that the Chinese New Year started on February 19th.
That meant anyone born before February 19th, 1996, would still be considered under the previous year’s zodiac sign (which was the Pig, by the way, year of the Wood Pig).
And,Anyone born on or after February 19th, 1996, would be a Rat.
And further more, I found out 1996 is the year of the Fire Rat.
It took a little digging, but it was pretty cool to trace my way through the calendar and pinpoint the correct zodiac animal and element. Now I can confidently say, “I’m a Fire Pig…or I’m a Fire Rat !”
