Zodiac series
Year of the Horse (2026 lunar year)
Lunar New Year fell on February 17, which started a Fire Horse year, 丙午, the first since 1966. It runs through February 5, 2027, and the Goat year starts the next day.
A child born in that stretch is usually a Horse, even with a 2027 birth certificate. 2014, 2002, and 1990 were Horse years too, on a different element. Fire and horse meet once every 60 years.
Key dates
Horse year began February 17, 2026. Goat year begins February 6, 2027.
Birth date zodiac lookup
Enter a birth date to see which zodiac year applies using Lunar New Year cutoffs, not January first alone.
Result
Year of the Snake
Lunar New Year January 29, 2025 began the Year of the Snake. Classmates using January first may disagree until you explain the cutoff.
Relevant Lunar New Year: January 29, 2025 (2025)
Why some families still say wait
The story that travels with this year comes out of Japan. In the Edo period, people said a girl born in a Fire Horse year would be hot-tempered, and disastrous for a husband. Families could not know the sex ahead of time, so some sat the year out.
Japan's health ministry counted 1,823,697 live births in 1965 and 1,360,974 in 1966. That is 462,723 fewer babies, about a quarter. In 1967 the count was 1,935,647, higher than 1965.
Japan is where that drop was counted. Other households use the same year name, and some of them repeat the old warning. If 1966 comes up at dinner, this is the number.
Births through May started last year
From January through May 2026, the ministry counted 282,222 births, 1,243 more than those months in 2025, about 0.4 percent. Those pregnancies began in 2025, before February 17.
A couple who stopped trying when this Horse year began would not show up in the monthly births until around November. The news brief covers the argument over abortion counts in 1966.
A January 2027 baby can still be a Horse
A baby born January 10, 2027 is a Horse on this calendar until February 6. Kids counting from January 1 will already be calling that baby a Goat.
Babies born before February 17, 2026 are usually still Snakes, including most of January 2026. The Year of the Snake page has that window.
Gregorian windows
| Gregorian window | Zodiac year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Before Feb 17, 2026 | Snake (2025 cycle) | 2025 LNY started Jan 29, 2025 |
| Feb 17, 2026 – Feb 5, 2027 | Horse | Fire Horse, 丙午. Current cycle |
| Feb 6, 2027 onward | Goat | 2027 LNY start |
Lunar New Year dates follow the cutoffs used across this site, aligned with common almanac practice and Hong Kong Observatory conventions. Japan's 1965–1967 birth counts are from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. January–May 2026 is from the ministry's May 2026 prompt report. Regional temple calendars can differ by a day.
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