1996 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Fire Rat

1996 is the year of the Fire Rat (丙子 Bǐngzǐ), from 19 February 1996 to 6 February 1997. Anyone born in 1996 before 19 February 1996 belongs to the Wood Pig year.

• Animal: Rat
• Element: Fire (Yang)
• Cycle name: 丙子 Bǐngzǐ, year 13 of the 60-year cycle
• Starts: 19 February 1996
• Ends: 6 February 1997

The Fire Rat

Fire years are traditionally linked with passion, visibility and momentum: the element of warmth, courage and ideas that spread quickly. The Rat opens the twelve-year cycle, and tradition gives it the quickest mind of the twelve. Rat people are described as resourceful, sociable and alert to an opening before anyone else has noticed it. They save for a rainy day, read a room fast and like to have a plan and a spare plan.

Born in January or February 1996?

Anyone born from 1 January to 18 February 1996 belongs to the Wood Pig year of 1995. From 19 February 1996 the Fire Rat year begins.

Famous people born in the Fire Rat year

• Tom Holland, born 1 June 1996
• Zendaya, born 1 September 1996
• Lewis Capaldi, born 7 October 1996
• Bella Hadid, born 9 October 1996
• Lorde, born 7 November 1996

How the dates are worked out

Each Chinese New Year here is worked out from the sky, not copied from a list. A lunar month starts on the day of a New Moon in China Standard Time (UTC+8, or Beijing local time before 1929). The month holding the December solstice is the 11th month. When 13 New Moons fall between two of those months, the first month with no principal solar term (the Sun reaching a multiple of 30 degrees) is a leap month. New Year is the first day of the 1st month, which is why it moves between 21 January and 20 February. New Moons and solar terms follow Jean Meeus's Astronomical Algorithms. The rules follow the Chinese calendar.

1995: Wood Pig · 1997: Fire Ox · All Rat years · All 12 animals