In the Chinese zodiac, 2001 is the Year of the Snake, and its element is Metal. The Metal Snake year began on Wednesday, January 24, 2001 and ended on Monday, February 11, 2002. Almost everyone born in 2001 is a Metal Snake, and so are people born in the first six weeks of 2002. Birthdays from January 1 to January 23, 2001 belong to the Dragon.
What are the exact dates of the 2001 Snake year?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to January 23, 2001 | Metal Dragon |
| January 24, 2001 to February 11, 2002 | Metal Snake |
| February 12, 2002 and later | Water Horse |
The year covered 384 days. Only 23 days of 2001 lie outside it, and 42 days of 2002 lie inside it.
How a leap month stretched the year
Lunar New Year came early in 2001, on January 24, and late in 2002, on February 12. The difference is a leap month.
The traditional calendar builds its year from lunar months, and 12 of them fall short of a year of seasons by about 11 days. Every two or three years a thirteenth month is added. In the Hong Kong Observatory's table for 2001, the fourth lunar month begins on April 23 and then a second fourth month begins on May 23. That is the leap month, and with it the Snake year ran to 13 months.
Were you born at the edge of the year?
- Born on January 15, 2001? You are a Dragon. See 2000 in the Chinese zodiac.
- Born on January 24, 2001? A Snake, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on February 1, 2002? A Snake, even though the calendar says 2002.
- Born on February 12, 2002? You are a Horse, on the first day of its year. See 2002 in the Chinese zodiac.
For any other date, the tool below shows the animal and the element. It also has a page to itself, Birthday Profile.
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What does Metal Snake mean?
The Snake is traditionally said to be wise, intuitive and calm under pressure. National Museums Liverpool describes the sign as wise and intense, and notes that the snake is seen by some in Chinese culture as a strong protector. Metal is the element linked with determination, discipline and strength. The tradition puts them together as a composed sign under a determined element. Read it as folklore; it is not a description of a person.
The element is carried over from the year before. 2000 and 2001 are the two Metal years, which is why the Dragons of early January 2001 are Metal signs as well. At the far end of the year both parts changed, and Metal Snake gave way to Water Horse.
In the old system of year names, 2001 is xin-si: xin is the eighth of the ten "heavenly stems" and si the "earthly branch" of the Snake. The cycle they produce is explained on our page about Chinese New Year animals. The sign's years, traits and five element types are in the Snake in the Chinese zodiac.
When was the last Metal Snake year, and when is the next?
| Metal Snake year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1941 | January 27, 1941 | February 14, 1942 |
| 2001 | January 24, 2001 | February 11, 2002 |
| 2061 | January 21, 2061 | February 8, 2062 |
The same animal and element meet every 60 years. Here the shape of the year repeats too: each of the three begins in late January and runs into the middle of the following February. The 2061 year starts on January 21, the earliest date Lunar New Year can fall on.
How old are people born in 2001, and when is their next Snake year?
People born in 2001 turn 26 in 2027. Their sign's year has just passed: the most recent Year of the Snake ran from January 29, 2025 to February 16, 2026, the second return for this group after 2013. The next begins on February 15, 2037 and ends on February 3, 2038.
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 tied to it is wearing red.
The years on either side
- 2000 was a Metal Dragon year: February 5, 2000 to January 23, 2001.
- 2002 was a Water Horse year: February 12, 2002 to January 31, 2003.