Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year occurs on the second new moon after the winter solstice (around December 21) so thus falls between January 21 and February 19. The names of the Chinese New Year is based on a cycle of 12 animal names.

Rat - 1996, 2008
Ox - 1997, 2009
Tiger - 1998, 2010
Rabbit - 1999, 2011
Dragon - 2000, 2012
Snake - 2001, 2013
Horse - 2002, 2014
Sheep* - 2003, 2015
Monkey - 2004, 2016
Rooster - 2005, 2017
Dog -2006, 2018
Pig - 2007, 2019

* also known as Ram or Goat