In the Chinese zodiac, 2004 is the Year of the Monkey, and its element is Wood. The Wood Monkey year began on Thursday, January 22, 2004 and ended on Tuesday, February 8, 2005. Nearly everyone born in 2004 is a Wood Monkey, along with people born in the first weeks of 2005. Birthdays from January 1 to January 21, 2004 belong to the Goat.
What are the exact dates of the 2004 Monkey year?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to January 21, 2004 | Water Goat |
| January 22, 2004 to February 8, 2005 | Wood Monkey |
| February 9, 2005 and later | Wood Rooster |
The Monkey year lasted 384 days. It missed just 21 days of 2004 and added 39 days of 2005.
Two kinds of leap year at once
2004 was a leap year in the ordinary calendar, with a February 29. The Monkey year was a leap year in the traditional calendar too, and the two extras landed almost side by side.
The traditional calendar adds a whole month, not a day. Twelve lunar months are about 11 days shorter than a year of seasons, so every two or three years a thirteenth is inserted. In the Hong Kong Observatory's table for 2004, the second lunar month begins on February 20 and a second second month begins on March 21. February 29, 2004 fell in the first of them.
Add to that one of the earliest possible starts. Lunar New Year can come no earlier than January 21, and in 2004 it came on January 22. An early start and a thirteenth month make this one of the widest zodiac years of its time.
Were you born at the edge of the year?
- Born on January 15, 2004? You are a Goat. See 2003 in the Chinese zodiac.
- Born on January 22, 2004? A Monkey, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on February 1, 2005? A Monkey, whatever the calendar year.
- Born on February 9, 2005? You are a Rooster, on the first day of its year. See 2005 in the Chinese zodiac.
For anything in between, enter the birthday below. The tool shows the animal and the element, and it is the same as on the Birthday Profile page.
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What does Wood Monkey mean?
The Monkey is traditionally said to be clever, curious and playful. National Museums Liverpool calls it a mischievous sign that is intelligent, sociable and quick to learn. Wood is the element linked with growth, generosity and cooperation. A Wood Monkey, in the tradition, is a clever sign in a year of a generous, cooperative element. It is folklore and should not be mistaken for a description of a person.
In the old system of year names, 2004 is jia-shen. Shen is the "earthly branch" of the Monkey, and jia is the first of the ten "heavenly stems," so the year opened a new round of the ten-year count. That is why both animal and element changed on January 22, 2004, from Water Goat to Wood Monkey. A year later only the animal changed. The full scheme is on our page about Chinese New Year animals, and the sign itself is in the Monkey in the Chinese zodiac.
When was the last Wood Monkey year, and when is the next?
| Wood Monkey year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1944 | January 25, 1944 | February 12, 1945 |
| 2004 | January 22, 2004 | February 8, 2005 |
| 2064 | February 17, 2064 | February 4, 2065 |
Animal and element meet every 60 years, but the calendar does not line up as neatly. The 2064 Wood Monkey year begins almost four weeks later than the 2004 one did.
How old are people born in 2004, and when is their next Monkey year?
People born in 2004 turn 23 in 2027. Their sign has returned once, in 2016. The second return is close: the Year of the Monkey begins on January 26, 2028, the day after the Goat year ends, and runs to February 12, 2029.
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 people traditionally wear red during it.
The Goats of January 2004 get there first. Their year begins on February 6, 2027: see Year of the Goat 2027.
The years on either side
- 2003 was a Water Goat year: February 1, 2003 to January 21, 2004.
- 2005 was a Wood Rooster year: February 9, 2005 to January 28, 2006.