In the Chinese zodiac, 2000 is the Year of the Dragon, with Metal as its element. The Metal Dragon year began on Saturday, February 5, 2000 and ended on Tuesday, January 23, 2001. People born between those dates are Metal Dragons. Babies born in the first five weeks of 2000, from January 1 to February 4, are Earth Rabbits.
When did the Year of the Dragon start and end in 2000?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to February 4, 2000 | Earth Rabbit |
| February 5, 2000 to January 23, 2001 | Metal Dragon |
| January 24, 2001 and later | Metal Snake |
The Dragon year had 12 lunar months and lasted 354 days. It began 35 days into 2000 and ran 23 days into 2001.
Are millennium babies Dragons?
Most are, but not the famous ones. The year 2000 and the Year of the Dragon are often spoken of as if they were the same thing, and for the first five weeks they were not. A baby born as the clocks struck midnight on January 1, 2000 arrived in the last stretch of a Rabbit year; the background is in 1999 in the Chinese zodiac.
- Born on January 1, 2000? You are a Rabbit.
- Born on February 4, 2000? A Rabbit, on the last day of the Rabbit year.
- Born on February 5, 2000? You are a Dragon, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on January 20, 2001? A Dragon. The Snake year began four days later; see 2001 in the Chinese zodiac.
Enter a birthday below to see which side of the line it falls on. The tool gives the element too, and it is the one on the Birthday Profile page.
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What does Metal Dragon mean?
The Dragon is the only mythical animal of the 12 and is traditionally said to be ambitious, energetic and charismatic. National Museums Liverpool calls the sign strong and independent, and the Victoria and Albert Museum points out that the Chinese dragon is a creature of good omen. Metal is the element linked with determination, discipline and strength. In the tradition, a Metal Dragon is an ambitious sign in a year of a strong-willed element. It is a piece of folklore and tells you nothing certain about a person.
Animal and element changed together on February 5, 2000. The Rabbit year before it was the second of two Earth years, and 2000 is the first of two Metal years. A year later only the animal changed, since the Snake year of 2001 is a Metal year as well.
In the old system of year names, 2000 is geng-chen. Geng is the seventh of the ten "heavenly stems" and chen is the "earthly branch" of the Dragon. The 60-year cycle built from stems and branches is explained on our page about Chinese New Year animals. All Dragon years, traits and element types are in the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac.
When was the last Metal Dragon year, and when is the next?
| Metal Dragon year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | February 8, 1940 | January 26, 1941 |
| 2000 | February 5, 2000 | January 23, 2001 |
| 2060 | February 2, 2060 | January 20, 2061 |
The pairing returns once in 60 years. These three years are close copies of one another in the calendar: each starts in the first eight days of February and is over before the end of the next January.
How old are people born in 2000, and when is their next Dragon year?
People born in 2000 turn 27 in 2027, which makes ages easy to work out for this group. The Dragon has returned twice in their lives, in 2012 and 2024. Its next year begins on January 28, 2036 and ends on February 14, 2037.
A person's own zodiac year is called the ben ming nian. In folk belief it is a hurdle and not a lucky year, and people traditionally wear red while it lasts.
The years on either side
- 1999 was an Earth Rabbit year: February 16, 1999 to February 4, 2000.
- 2001 was a Metal Snake year: January 24, 2001 to February 11, 2002.