In the Chinese zodiac, 1995 is the Year of the Pig, and its element is Wood. The Wood Pig year began on Tuesday, January 31, 1995 and ended on Sunday, February 18, 1996. People born between those dates are Wood Pigs, including those born in the first seven weeks of 1996. Birthdays from January 1 to January 30, 1995 belong to the Dog.
What are the exact dates of the 1995 Pig year?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to January 30, 1995 | Wood Dog |
| January 31, 1995 to February 18, 1996 | Wood Pig |
| February 19, 1996 and later | Fire Rat |
The year ran for 384 days. It began 30 days into 1995 and did not finish until 49 days of 1996 had passed.
Why did it reach so far into 1996?
The Pig year had 13 lunar months. A year of 12 lunar months is about 11 days shorter than a year of seasons, and the traditional calendar closes the gap by adding a leap month every two or three years.
In 1995 the extra month came in autumn. The Hong Kong Observatory's table shows the eighth lunar month beginning on August 26 and a second eighth month beginning on September 25. The following Lunar New Year was pushed to February 19, 1996, a day short of the latest date it can fall on.
So this is a year in which the usual warning runs the other way. Being born in January or February 1996 does not make you a Rat; for most of those seven weeks it makes you a Pig.
The last year of the round
The Pig is the twelfth of the 12 animals, and its year closes each round of the zodiac. When the Pig year ended on February 18, 1996, the cycle started over the next day with the Rat; see 1996 in the Chinese zodiac.
The elements run on their own schedule and do not restart with the animals. 1995 is the second of two Wood years, so at its start only the animal changed, from Dog to Pig. At its end both changed, from Wood Pig to Fire Rat.
Were you born at the edge of the year?
- Born on January 25, 1995? You are a Dog. See 1994 in the Chinese zodiac.
- Born on January 31, 1995? A Pig, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on February 10, 1996? A Pig, although the calendar says 1996.
- Born on February 19, 1996? You are a Rat, on the first day of a new cycle.
The tool below gives the animal and element for any birthday. It is the same one as on the Birthday Profile page.
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What does Wood Pig mean?
The Pig is traditionally said to be generous, easygoing and sincere; National Museums Liverpool calls the sign noble, considerate and warm-hearted. Wood is the element linked with growth, generosity and cooperation. A Wood Pig, in the tradition, is a generous sign in a year of a generous element. It is a folk portrait and no measure of a real person.
In the old system of year names, 1995 is yi-hai: yi is the second of the ten "heavenly stems" and hai the "earthly branch" of the Pig. The cycle they form is explained on our page about Chinese New Year animals. All Pig years and the five element types are in the Pig in the Chinese zodiac.
When was the last Wood Pig year, and when is the next?
| Wood Pig year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1935 | February 4, 1935 | January 23, 1936 |
| 1995 | January 31, 1995 | February 18, 1996 |
| 2055 | January 28, 2055 | February 14, 2056 |
The same animal and element meet once in 60 years. The 1935 Wood Pig year was a short one that ended in January; the 1995 and 2055 years both run to the middle of the following February.
How old are people born in 1995, and when is their next Pig year?
People born in 1995 turn 32 in 2027. The Pig has come around twice since their birth, in 2007 and 2019. Its next year begins on January 23, 2031 and ends on February 10, 2032.
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 the custom that goes with it is wearing red.
The years on either side
- 1994 was a Wood Dog year: February 10, 1994 to January 30, 1995.
- 1996 was a Fire Rat year: February 19, 1996 to February 6, 1997.