In the Chinese zodiac, 1979 is the Year of the Goat, and its element is Earth. The Earth Goat year began on Sunday, January 28, 1979 and ended on Friday, February 15, 1980. Everyone born between those dates is an Earth Goat, including people born in early 1980. Birthdays from January 1 to January 27, 1979 fall in the Year of the Horse.
What are the exact dates of the 1979 Goat year?
The zodiac year opens on Lunar New Year, which came early in 1979, and closes the day before the next one.
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to January 27, 1979 | Earth Horse |
| January 28, 1979 to February 15, 1980 | Earth Goat |
| February 16, 1980 and later | Metal Monkey |
The year gave up 27 days of 1979 at the start and took 46 days of 1980 at the end. In all it lasted 384 days.
Why was it such a long year?
It had 13 lunar months. Twelve months counted by the moon make only about 354 days, so the traditional calendar inserts a leap month every two or three years to stay in step with the seasons. In the Hong Kong Observatory's table for 1979 the sixth lunar month is listed twice, beginning on June 24 and again on July 24. The second of the two is the leap month.
Were you born in January or February?
- Born on January 20, 1979? You are a Horse. The Goat year was eight days away. The sign is described in the Horse in the Chinese zodiac.
- Born on January 28, 1979? A Goat, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on February 10, 1980? A Goat as well, whatever the year on the calendar says.
- Born on February 16, 1980? You are a Monkey, on the first day of its year.
To check another date, use the tool below. It returns the animal and element for the exact birthday and can also be found on the Birthday Profile page.
Loading the tool…
What does Earth Goat mean?
The Goat is traditionally said to be gentle, artistic and kind; a Penn Museum note on the sign calls people born under it tender, wise and polite. Earth is the element linked with stability, patience and practicality. In the tradition, an Earth Goat is the Goat's mild nature set on solid ground. It is folklore about a symbol and no guide to a real person.
In the old system of year names, 1979 is ji-wei: ji is the sixth of the ten "heavenly stems" and wei is the "earthly branch" that goes with the Goat. Our page about Chinese New Year animals explains how the two series combine. For every Goat year, the traits and the five element types, see the Goat in the Chinese zodiac.
You may know the year as the Year of the Sheep or the Ram. It is the same sign: the Chinese word covers goats and sheep alike. More in Year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram?
When was the last Earth Goat year, and when is the next?
| Earth Goat year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1919 | February 1, 1919 | February 19, 1920 |
| 1979 | January 28, 1979 | February 15, 1980 |
| 2039 | January 24, 2039 | February 11, 2040 |
The same animal and element meet once in 60 years. A person born in the 1979 Goat year completes that full cycle in 2039, at 60.
How old are people born in 1979, and when is their next Goat year?
People born in 1979 turn 48 in 2027, and for the Goats among them the birthday lands in their own sign's year. The Year of the Goat begins on February 6, 2027 and ends on January 25, 2028. The sign has come around three times since 1979: in 1991, 2003 and 2015.
A person's own zodiac year is called the ben ming nian. Folk belief treats it as a hurdle and not as a lucky year, and wearing red is the custom that goes with it. The dates and traditions of the coming year are on our Year of the Goat 2027 page.
The Horses of January 1979 are already there: the current Year of the Horse runs until February 5, 2027.
The years on either side
- 1978 was an Earth Horse year: February 7, 1978 to January 27, 1979.
- 1980 was a Metal Monkey year: February 16, 1980 to February 4, 1981.