In the Chinese zodiac, 1999 is the Year of the Rabbit, and its element is Earth. The Earth Rabbit year began on Tuesday, February 16, 1999 and ended on Friday, February 4, 2000. People born between those dates are Earth Rabbits, including babies born at the turn of the millennium. People born from January 1 to February 15, 1999 are Earth Tigers.
Which birthdays fall in the 1999 Rabbit year?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to February 15, 1999 | Earth Tiger |
| February 16, 1999 to February 4, 2000 | Earth Rabbit |
| February 5, 2000 and later | Metal Dragon |
The Rabbit year lasted 354 days, the length of 12 lunar months. It started 46 days into 1999 and ended 35 days into 2000.
The Rabbit year and the year 2000
On the night the calendar turned from 1999 to 2000, the zodiac did nothing at all. It was the 25th day of the eleventh lunar month, and the Rabbit year still had five weeks to run.
That makes the first babies of 2000 Rabbits. The Dragon year did not begin until February 5, 2000; what happened then is in 2000 in the Chinese zodiac.
Were you born in January or February?
The start of 1999 needs the same care as its end. The Tiger year before it had a leap month and lasted 384 days, so it took up the first six and a half weeks of 1999; see 1998 in the Chinese zodiac.
- Born on January 30, 1999? You are a Tiger.
- Born on February 15, 1999? A Tiger, on the last day of its year.
- Born on February 16, 1999? You are a Rabbit, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on January 1, 2000? A Rabbit.
The tool below checks any birthday and returns the animal and the element. It is also on the Birthday Profile page.
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What does Earth Rabbit mean?
The Rabbit is traditionally said to be gentle, kind and diplomatic; National Museums Liverpool describes the sign as talented, articulate, affectionate and shy. In Chinese folklore the rabbit is also the animal of the moon, where, as the Victoria and Albert Museum notes, legend has it pounding the elixir of immortality. Earth is the element linked with stability, patience and practicality. An Earth Rabbit, in the tradition, is a gentle sign under a steady element. It is folklore and not a description of anyone.
The element links this year to the one before. 1998 and 1999 are the two Earth years, so the Tigers of early 1999 and the Rabbits who follow are all Earth signs. On February 5, 2000 animal and element changed together.
In the old system of year names, 1999 is ji-mao: ji is the sixth of the ten "heavenly stems" and mao the "earthly branch" of the Rabbit. Our page about Chinese New Year animals shows how the two series make a cycle of 60. The sign's years and element types are in the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac.
When was the last Earth Rabbit year, and when is the next?
| Earth Rabbit year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1939 | February 19, 1939 | February 7, 1940 |
| 1999 | February 16, 1999 | February 4, 2000 |
| 2059 | February 12, 2059 | February 1, 2060 |
The same animal and element meet every 60 years. All three of these years start in the middle of February and end early in the next one, so each includes the following January in full.
How old are people born in 1999, and when is their next Rabbit year?
People born in 1999 turn 28 in 2027. The Rabbit has come around twice since their birth, in 2011 and 2023. Its next year begins on February 8, 2035 and ends on January 27, 2036.
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
- 1998 was an Earth Tiger year: January 28, 1998 to February 15, 1999.
- 2000 was a Metal Dragon year: February 5, 2000 to January 23, 2001.