In the Chinese zodiac, 1996 is the Year of the Rat, with Fire as its element. The Fire Rat year began on Monday, February 19, 1996 and ended on Thursday, February 6, 1997. People born between those dates are Fire Rats. Lunar New Year fell very late that year, so anyone born from January 1 to February 18, 1996 is a Wood Pig.
When did the Year of the Rat start and end in 1996?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to February 18, 1996 | Wood Pig |
| February 19, 1996 to February 6, 1997 | Fire Rat |
| February 7, 1997 and later | Fire Ox |
The Rat year had 12 lunar months and lasted 354 days. It began 49 days into 1996 and ended 37 days into 1997.
A late start for a new cycle
The Rat is the first of the 12 animals, so February 19, 1996 was the start of a whole new round of the zodiac as well as of a new year. The round it opened ended with the Pig year of 2007.
It was a late beginning. Lunar New Year can fall no later than February 20, and in 1996 it missed that limit by a single day. The cause was the long Pig year before it, which had a leap month; see 1995 in the Chinese zodiac.
For people born in 1996 this matters more than in almost any other year. About two of every 15 were born before February 19, and all of them belong to the last sign of the old round and not the first sign of the new one.
Were you born in January or February?
- Born on January 20, 1996? You are a Pig. The sign is described in the Pig in the Chinese zodiac.
- Born on February 18, 1996? A Pig, on the last day of its year.
- Born on February 19, 1996? You are a Rat, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on January 25, 1997? A Rat too. The Ox year began on February 7; see 1997 in the Chinese zodiac.
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What does Fire Rat mean?
The Rat is traditionally said to be quick-witted, resourceful and good with money; National Museums Liverpool calls the sign ambitious and honest. In the legend of the Great Race it is the animal that won by riding across the river on the Ox. Fire is the element linked with passion, energy and leadership. A Fire Rat, in the tradition, is a quick, resourceful sign in an energetic year. It is folklore, and it describes a symbol and not a person.
Both the animal and the element changed on February 19, 1996, because 1996 is the first of two Fire years. At the end of the year only the animal changed: the Ox year of 1997 is a Fire year too.
In the old system of year names, 1996 is bing-zi. Bing is the third of the ten "heavenly stems" and zi is the first of the 12 "earthly branches," the one that goes with the Rat. The Hong Kong Observatory's table for the year labels it "year of the Mouse"; it is the same sign. More about stems and branches is on our page about Chinese New Year animals, and every Rat year is in the Rat in the Chinese zodiac.
When was the last Fire Rat year, and when is the next?
| Fire Rat year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1936 | January 24, 1936 | February 10, 1937 |
| 1996 | February 19, 1996 | February 6, 1997 |
| 2056 | February 15, 2056 | February 3, 2057 |
Sixty years separate them. The 1936 Fire Rat year began on January 24, close to four weeks earlier in the calendar than the 1996 one, a reminder to check the dates for each year separately.
How old are people born in 1996, and when is their next Rat year?
People born in 1996 turn 31 in 2027. The Rat has returned twice so far, in 2008 and 2020. Its next year runs from February 11, 2032 to January 30, 2033.
A person's own zodiac year is called the ben ming nian. Folk belief counts it as a hurdle and not as a lucky year, and wearing red is the custom linked to it.
The years on either side
- 1995 was a Wood Pig year: January 31, 1995 to February 18, 1996.
- 1997 was a Fire Ox year: February 7, 1997 to January 27, 1998.