In the Chinese zodiac, 2006 is the Year of the Dog, and its element is Fire. The Fire Dog year began on Sunday, January 29, 2006 and ended on Saturday, February 17, 2007. People born between those dates are Fire Dogs, including those born in the first seven weeks of 2007. Birthdays from January 1 to January 28, 2006 belong to the Rooster.
What are the exact dates of the 2006 Dog year?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to January 28, 2006 | Wood Rooster |
| January 29, 2006 to February 17, 2007 | Fire Dog |
| February 18, 2007 and later | Fire Pig |
From its first day to its last the Dog year covered 385 days: all of 2006 after its first four weeks, and 48 days of 2007.
Why 385 days?
A zodiac year is as long as its lunar months. With 12 months it comes to 353, 354 or 355 days. With 13, in a leap year, it comes to 383, 384 or 385. The Dog year of 2006 sits at the top of that range.
Its leap month came in late summer. In the Hong Kong Observatory's table for 2006, the seventh lunar month begins on July 25 and a second seventh month begins on August 24. The result was a new year pushed back to February 18, 2007, two days short of the latest date it can fall on.
Compare the year before, which had no leap month and lasted 354 days; see 2005 in the Chinese zodiac. The Dog year was a full month longer.
Were you born at the edge of the year?
- Born on January 20, 2006? You are a Rooster.
- Born on January 29, 2006? A Dog, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on February 10, 2007? A Dog, though the calendar says 2007.
- Born on February 18, 2007? You are a Pig, on the first day of its year. See 2007 in the Chinese zodiac.
The tool below works out the animal and element for any birthday. It is also on the Birthday Profile page.
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What does Fire Dog mean?
The Dog is traditionally said to be loyal, honest and protective; National Museums Liverpool describes the sign as loyal, candid and quick-witted. Fire is the element linked with passion, energy and leadership. A Fire Dog, in the tradition, is a loyal sign in a year of an energetic element. It is folklore attached to the calendar and no description of a real person.
Animal and element changed together on January 29, 2006, from Wood Rooster to Fire Dog, because 2006 is the first of two Fire years. At the other end only the animal changed: the Pig year of 2007 is a Fire year too.
In the old system of year names, 2006 is bing-xu: bing is the third of the ten "heavenly stems" and xu the "earthly branch" of the Dog. The cycle of 60 they make is explained on our page about Chinese New Year animals. The sign's years, traits and five element types are in the Dog in the Chinese zodiac.
When was the last Fire Dog year, and when is the next?
| Fire Dog year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | February 2, 1946 | January 21, 1947 |
| 2006 | January 29, 2006 | February 17, 2007 |
| 2066 | January 26, 2066 | February 13, 2067 |
The same animal and element meet once in 60 years. Their years need not be the same size: the 1946 Fire Dog year had no leap month and was over in January, almost four weeks earlier in the calendar than the 2006 year ended.
How old are people born in 2006, and when is their next Dog year?
People born in 2006 turn 21 in 2027. The Dog has returned once since their birth, in 2018. Its next year begins on February 3, 2030 and ends on January 22, 2031.
A person's own zodiac year is called the ben ming nian. Folk belief sees it as a hurdle and not as a lucky year, and wearing red is the custom linked to it.
The years on either side
- 2005 was a Wood Rooster year: February 9, 2005 to January 28, 2006.
- 2007 was a Fire Pig year: February 18, 2007 to February 6, 2008.