2025 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Wood Snake
Last checked · calculated, then checked against the Hong Kong Observatory tables
Animal
Snake 蛇
Element
Yin Wood
Stem-branch
乙巳 Yi-Si
Zodiac year
Jan 29, 2025 to Feb 16, 2026
The 2025 Year of the Yin Wood Snake (乙巳) began on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, and lasted until February 16, 2026. Births from January 1 to January 28, 2025, the first 28 days of 2025, belonged to the Wood Dragon year. The lunar year has a leap 6th month, starting Jul 25, 2025, so it runs 384 days. It contains two Start of Spring terms (Feb 3, 2025 and Feb 4, 2026), which folk custom calls a "double spring" year.
Which animal for a 2025 birthday?
Popular rule: Chinese New Year. Four Pillars rule: Lichun, at 22:10 China Standard Time. How to check a January or February birthday.
| Born | New Year rule | Lichun rule |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 to Jan 28, 2025 | Wood Dragon | Wood Dragon |
| Jan 29 to Feb 3, 2025, before 22:10 | Wood Snake | Wood Dragon |
| Feb 3, 2025, from 22:10, to Dec 31 | Wood Snake | Wood Snake |
Know the exact date and want the lunar date too? Use the lunar date converter.
Check a birth around Lichun 2025 by time and place
Chinese New Year rule (popular)
Wood Snake (2025)
Lichun rule (Four Pillars)
Wood Dragon (2024)
Chinese New Year 2025: 2025-01-29. Lichun 2025: 2025-02-03 22:10 Beijing time. The New Year rule compares your birth date with the New Year date; the Lichun rule compares the exact moment, converted from your local time.
Lichun 2025 in other time zones
The same moment in local time. Under the Lichun rule, a birth at or after this local time takes the new animal.
Lichun 2025 was 22:10 Beijing time on February 3, 2025. In New York that was 09:10 on the same date.
| Place | Local date | Local time |
|---|---|---|
| Beijing | Feb 3, 2025 | 22:10 |
| Hong Kong | Feb 3, 2025 | 22:10 |
| Taipei | Feb 3, 2025 | 22:10 |
| Singapore | Feb 3, 2025 | 22:10 |
| Seoul | Feb 3, 2025 | 23:10 |
| Tokyo | Feb 3, 2025 | 23:10 |
| London | Feb 3, 2025 | 14:10 |
| New York | Feb 3, 2025 | 09:10 |
| Los Angeles | Feb 3, 2025 | 06:10 |
| Sydney | Feb 4, 2025 | 01:10 |
Local times use each place's official clock time in 2025, including daylight saving time where it applied. Born outside China.
Festivals in the 2025 lunar year
| Festival | Date |
|---|---|
| Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) | Jan 29, 2025 |
| Lantern Festival | Feb 12, 2025 |
| Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day) | Apr 4, 2025 |
| Dragon Boat Festival | May 31, 2025 |
| Qixi Festival | Aug 29, 2025 |
| Ghost Festival (Zhongyuan) | Sep 6, 2025 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival | Oct 6, 2025 |
| Double Ninth Festival | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Winter Solstice Festival (Dongzhi) | Dec 21, 2025 |
| Laba Festival | Jan 26, 2026 |
The Snake and 乙巳 in the calendar
The Snake is the Earthly Branch 巳 (Si); it also marks the double hour from 9 am to 11 am, the direction South-southeast and the fixed element Fire. 2025's own element, Wood, comes from the Heavenly Stem 乙. All Years of the Snake.
乙巳 is the 42nd year of the 60-year cycle; the same stem-branch also falls in 1905 (see the Year of the Snake table), 1965 and 2085 (see the Year of the Snake table).
Lunar months of the 2025 lunar year
13 months, including a leap 6th month. How leap months work.
| Lunar month | Starts | Days |
|---|---|---|
| 1st month | Jan 29, 2025 | 30 |
| 2nd month | Feb 28, 2025 | 29 |
| 3rd month | Mar 29, 2025 | 30 |
| 4th month | Apr 28, 2025 | 29 |
| 5th month | May 27, 2025 | 29 |
| 6th month | Jun 25, 2025 | 30 |
| Leap 6th month | Jul 25, 2025 | 29 |
| 7th month | Aug 23, 2025 | 30 |
| 8th month | Sep 22, 2025 | 29 |
| 9th month | Oct 21, 2025 | 30 |
| 10th month | Nov 20, 2025 | 30 |
| 11th month | Dec 20, 2025 | 30 |
| 12th month | Jan 19, 2026 | 29 |
The 24 solar terms in 2025
Beijing time. The 12 terms marked with a month begin the solar months that the Four Pillars use; Lichun opens the year. What each term means.
| Solar term | Date | Time | Four Pillars month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor Cold 小寒 Xiaohan | Jan 5 | 10:32 | 丑 Ox month begins |
| Major Cold 大寒 Dahan | Jan 20 | 04:00 | |
| Start of Spring 立春 Lichun | Feb 3 | 22:10 | 寅 Tiger month begins |
| Rain Water 雨水 Yushui | Feb 18 | 18:06 | |
| Awakening of Insects 惊蛰 Jingzhe | Mar 5 | 16:07 | 卯 Rabbit month begins |
| Spring Equinox 春分 Chunfen | Mar 20 | 17:01 | |
| Pure Brightness 清明 Qingming | Apr 4 | 20:48 | 辰 Dragon month begins |
| Grain Rain 谷雨 Guyu | Apr 20 | 03:56 | |
| Start of Summer 立夏 Lixia | May 5 | 13:57 | 巳 Snake month begins |
| Grain Buds 小满 Xiaoman | May 21 | 02:54 | |
| Grain in Ear 芒种 Mangzhong | Jun 5 | 17:56 | 午 Horse month begins |
| Summer Solstice 夏至 Xiazhi | Jun 21 | 10:42 | |
| Minor Heat 小暑 Xiaoshu | Jul 7 | 04:04 | 未 Goat month begins |
| Major Heat 大暑 Dashu | Jul 22 | 21:29 | |
| Start of Autumn 立秋 Liqiu | Aug 7 | 13:51 | 申 Monkey month begins |
| End of Heat 处暑 Chushu | Aug 23 | 04:33 | |
| White Dew 白露 Bailu | Sep 7 | 16:51 | 酉 Rooster month begins |
| Autumn Equinox 秋分 Qiufen | Sep 23 | 02:19 | |
| Cold Dew 寒露 Hanlu | Oct 8 | 08:41 | 戌 Dog month begins |
| Frost's Descent 霜降 Shuangjiang | Oct 23 | 11:50 | |
| Start of Winter 立冬 Lidong | Nov 7 | 12:04 | 亥 Pig month begins |
| Minor Snow 小雪 Xiaoxue | Nov 22 | 09:35 | |
| Major Snow 大雪 Daxue | Dec 7 | 05:04 | 子 Rat month begins |
| Winter Solstice 冬至 Dongzhi | Dec 21 | 23:03 |
Dates are checked against the Hong Kong Observatory tables; times are calculated. A dash means the term falls within minutes of midnight, where the calculated time and the Observatory's date disagree; the Observatory's date is shown.
FAQ
What Chinese zodiac sign is someone born in January 2025?
The Year of the Snake began on January 29, 2025. Anyone born from January 1 to January 28, 2025 belongs to the previous year, the Wood Dragon (甲辰); anyone born on or after January 29, 2025 is a Wood Snake. That is the popular Chinese New Year rule; under the Four Pillars (Lichun) rule the Snake year began at 22:10 China Standard Time on February 3, 2025 instead.
When was the Mid-Autumn Festival in the 2025 lunar year?
The Mid-Autumn Festival, the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, fell on Monday, October 6, 2025. The next one, on September 25, 2026, comes 11 days earlier in the Gregorian calendar, because no leap month falls between the two.
Did the 2025 lunar year have a leap month?
Yes. A leap 6th month followed the regular 6th month, starting July 25, 2025 and lasting 29 days, so the lunar year has 13 months and 384 days.
What element is 2025 in the Chinese zodiac?
2025 is a Yin Wood year: its Heavenly Stem 乙 (Yi) carries Wood, and its Earthly Branch 巳 (Si) is the Snake. Together they make 乙巳, the 42nd year of the 60-year cycle.
What about birthdays between Lichun and Chinese New Year in 2025?
Chinese New Year came first. Births from January 29, 2025 until Lichun (February 3, 2025 at 22:10) are a Wood Snake under the popular New Year rule but a Wood Dragon under the Four Pillars (Lichun) rule.
Nearby years
Dates are calculated with astronomical algorithms in China Standard Time (UTC+8) and checked against the Hong Kong Observatory, Gregorian-Lunar Calendar Conversion Table. Zodiac information describes the traditional calendar and is not a prediction.