How to Calculate the Start of Chinese New Years

For over three thousand years, the Chinese have utilized a special calendar based on exact astronomical calculations using the dates of the new moon and the longitude of the sun to set their years. Although China today uses the Gregorian calendar for everyday purposes, the ancient Chinese calendar marks the dates of special ceremonies, festivals, and traditions. Calculating the start of Chinese New Year is easily determined using the current year and Internet tools. Look below for a guideline to calculating the start of Chinese's New Year.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Knowing the exact calculation of each new year is very complex. Each month is determined by the moon's conjunction with the sun and the sun's longitude in 30 degree increments. Using the internet to aid you in determining the start of Chinese New Year for the current year will save a lot of time.

2. Find the date of the current year in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese calendar runs in 60-year cycles. Knowing when the current cycle began is key and you can find this quickly on the internet by using a Chinese Gregorian year converter for example, 2007 Gregorian is the same as cycle 78 Chinese year 24.

3. Use the year to determine the first day of the year. The Chinese calendar does not start on January 1 and can actually begin anytime between January 10 and January 21. Again, the internet can provide this information quickly making the complex calculations for you.

4. Understand that the new year is calculated at the beginning of the new moon and ends on the night of the next full moon (approximately 15 days). The Chinese new year celebration lasts this entire time so any calculation must have a beginning date and an ending date. For example January 10 to January 25.

Resources

• Converts between Chinese, Gregorian, and Julian dates
• Converter that include leap year calculations