In the Chinese zodiac, 1993 is the Year of the Rooster, and its element is Water. The Water Rooster year began on Saturday, January 23, 1993 and ended on Wednesday, February 9, 1994. Nearly everyone born in 1993 is a Water Rooster, and so are people born in the first weeks of 1994. Birthdays from January 1 to January 22, 1993 belong to the Monkey.
What are the exact dates of the 1993 Rooster year?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to January 22, 1993 | Water Monkey |
| January 23, 1993 to February 9, 1994 | Water Rooster |
| February 10, 1994 and later | Wood Dog |
Only the first 22 days of 1993 fall outside the Rooster year, and 40 days of 1994 fall inside it. Altogether it lasted 383 days.
An early start and a thirteenth month
Lunar New Year can come as early as January 21. In 1993 it arrived on January 23, close to that limit.
The year that followed was a long one. The traditional calendar counts months by the moon and adds a leap month every two or three years so that the months do not drift away from the seasons. In the Hong Kong Observatory's table for 1993, the third lunar month begins on March 23 and a second third month begins on April 22. That spring leap month is why the Rooster year did not end until February 1994.
Early start and long year together mean that the Rooster claims more calendar days here than an animal usually does.
Were you born at the edge of the year?
- Born on January 15, 1993? You are a Monkey. See 1992 in the Chinese zodiac.
- Born on January 23, 1993? A Rooster, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on February 1, 1994? A Rooster as well, in spite of the calendar year.
- Born on February 10, 1994? You are a Dog, on the first day of its year. See 1994 in the Chinese zodiac.
Enter a birthday below for the animal and element of that exact date. The tool also has its own page, Birthday Profile.
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What does Water Rooster mean?
The Rooster is traditionally said to be observant, punctual and outspoken. National Museums Liverpool describes the sign as devoted to work, hungry for knowledge and fond of attention. Water is the element linked with flexibility, intuition and communication. So the tradition pictures a Water Rooster as an outspoken sign under the element of communication. As always, this is folklore and not a portrait of a person.
The element is shared with the year before. 1992 and 1993 are the two Water years, so the Monkeys of early January 1993 are Water signs too.
In the old system of year names, 1993 is gui-you: gui is the last of the ten "heavenly stems" and you is the "earthly branch" of the Rooster. The way they fit together is explained on our page about Chinese New Year animals. The sign's years, traits and five element types are in the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac.
When was the last Water Rooster year, and when is the next?
| Water Rooster year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1933 | January 26, 1933 | February 13, 1934 |
| 1993 | January 23, 1993 | February 9, 1994 |
| 2053 | February 19, 2053 | February 7, 2054 |
Animal and element meet every 60 years, but the calendar dates can differ widely. The 2053 Water Rooster year begins almost four weeks later in the calendar than the 1993 one did.
How old are people born in 1993, and when is their next Rooster year?
People born in 1993 turn 34 in 2027. The Rooster has come around twice since they were born, in 2005 and 2017. Its next year runs from February 13, 2029 to February 2, 2030.
A person's own zodiac year is called the ben ming nian. Folk belief regards it as a hurdle and not as a lucky year, and the custom attached to it is wearing red.
The years on either side
- 1992 was a Water Monkey year: February 4, 1992 to January 22, 1993.
- 1994 was a Wood Dog year: February 10, 1994 to January 30, 1995.