In the Chinese zodiac, 2005 is the Year of the Rooster, with Wood as its element. The Wood Rooster year began on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 and ended on Saturday, January 28, 2006. If you were born between those dates, you are a Wood Rooster. If your birthday falls from January 1 to February 8, 2005, you are a Wood Monkey.
When did the Year of the Rooster start and end in 2005?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to February 8, 2005 | Wood Monkey |
| February 9, 2005 to January 28, 2006 | Wood Rooster |
| January 29, 2006 and later | Fire Dog |
The Rooster year had 12 lunar months and 354 days. It began 39 days into 2005 and ended 28 days into 2006.
A short year between two long ones
The Rooster year of 2005 is squeezed on both sides. The Monkey year before it had a leap month and lasted 384 days. The Dog year after it had one too and lasted 385. Between them the Rooster got a plain 12-month year, about a month shorter than either neighbor.
That is the traditional calendar working as intended. Twelve lunar months come to about 354 days, so the calendar falls behind the seasons by roughly 11 days a year and catches up with a leap month every two or three years. Years like 2005 are the ones in between.
For birthdays it means fewer Roosters than Monkeys or Dogs from this stretch of years, and a first five and a half weeks of 2005 that belong to the Monkey; see 2004 in the Chinese zodiac.
Were you born in January or February?
- Born on January 20, 2005? You are a Monkey.
- Born on February 8, 2005? A Monkey, on the last day of its year.
- Born on February 9, 2005? You are a Rooster, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on January 20, 2006? A Rooster as well. The Dog year began on January 29; see 2006 in the Chinese zodiac.
Check any date with the tool below, which gives the animal and the element. You can also find it on the Birthday Profile page.
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What does Wood Rooster mean?
The Rooster is traditionally said to be observant, punctual and outspoken. National Museums Liverpool describes the sign as devoted to work and eager for knowledge, and the Victoria and Albert Museum notes how long the bird has been part of Chinese household life: pottery roosters were placed in Han dynasty tombs. Wood is the element linked with growth, generosity and cooperation. The tradition joins them as a hard-working, outspoken sign in a year of a cooperative element. It is folklore, not a statement about a person.
The element did not change on February 9, 2005. 2004 and 2005 are the two Wood years, so the Monkeys of early 2005 are Wood signs like the Roosters after them. On January 29, 2006 animal and element changed together.
In the old system of year names, 2005 is yi-you: yi is the second of the ten "heavenly stems" and you the "earthly branch" of the Rooster. How the stems and branches combine is explained on our page about Chinese New Year animals. All Rooster years and element types are in the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac.
When was the last Wood Rooster year, and when is the next?
| Wood Rooster year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | February 13, 1945 | February 1, 1946 |
| 2005 | February 9, 2005 | January 28, 2006 |
| 2065 | February 5, 2065 | January 25, 2066 |
Sixty years lie between them. Each one begins four days earlier in the calendar than the last: February 13, then February 9, then February 5.
How old are people born in 2005, and when is their next Rooster year?
People born in 2005 turn 22 in 2027. The Rooster has come back once in their lives, in 2017. Its next year begins on February 13, 2029 and ends on February 2, 2030.
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
- 2004 was a Wood Monkey year: January 22, 2004 to February 8, 2005.
- 2006 was a Fire Dog year: January 29, 2006 to February 17, 2007.