1996: Year of the Fire Rat
The 1996 Chinese zodiac year is the Yang Fire Rat, and it runs from 19 February 1996 to 6 February 1997 — not from 1 January.
- Animal
- Rat 鼠
- Element and polarity
- Yang Fire
- Gan-Zhi
- Bing Zi 丙子
- Age this zodiac year
- Born in 1996, a person turns 30 during the 2026 year
Born early in 1996? You may be Pig, not Rat
Chinese New Year 1996 fell on 19 February 1996. Anyone born between 1 January 1996 and 18 February 1996 — a window of 49 days — belongs to the 1995 zodiac year, the Yin Wood Pig, and not to the Rat.
Check an exact birth date against the 19 February 1996 boundary.
Exact 1996 zodiac year dates
The 1996 lunar year ran its ordinary twelve months, 354 days in total.
Other Rat years around 1996
| Rat year | Complete name | Begins |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Yang Metal Rat | 28 January 1960 |
| 1972 | Yang Water Rat | 15 February 1972 |
| 1984 | Yang Wood Rat | 2 February 1984 |
| 2008 | Yang Earth Rat | 7 February 2008 |
| 2020 | Yang Metal Rat | 25 January 2020 |
| 2032 | Yang Water Rat | 11 February 2032 |
The exact pairing 丙子 — Yang Fire Rat — returns only once every sixty years: 1936, 2056.