2021 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Metal Ox

2021 is the year of the Metal Ox (辛丑 Xīnchǒu), from 12 February 2021 to 31 January 2022. Anyone born in 2021 before 12 February 2021 belongs to the Metal Rat year.

• Animal: Ox
• Element: Metal (Yin)
• Cycle name: 辛丑 Xīnchǒu, year 38 of the 60-year cycle
• Starts: 12 February 2021
• Ends: 31 January 2022

The Metal Ox

Metal years are traditionally linked with determination, precision and principle: the element of clear edges, strong will and high standards. The Ox is the patient worker of the zodiac. Tradition describes Ox people as dependable, methodical and quietly strong: slow to start, very hard to stop. They prefer proof to promises and build things meant to last, from a savings account to a family routine.

Born in January or February 2021?

Anyone born from 1 January to 11 February 2021 belongs to the Metal Rat year of 2020. From 12 February 2021 the Metal Ox year begins.

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.

2020: Metal Rat · 2022: Water Tiger · All Ox years · All 12 animals