When Is Lunar New Year 2027? Date, Year of the Goat and Calendar Guide

Lunar New Year 2027 falls on Saturday, February 6, 2027. That date marks the start of a new year in the Chinese calendar and opens the Year of the Goat, an animal also known in English as the Sheep or the Ram.

This guide covers the exact date, the weekday, the zodiac year, Chinese New Year’s Eve, why the date shifts every year, and how the holiday is observed differently across countries.

When Is Lunar New Year 2027?

The answer is Saturday, February 6, 2027. This is the first day of the first month in the Chinese lunisolar calendar for that year, according to the Hong Kong Observatory’s Gregorian-lunar conversion table.

February 6, 2027 opens the year the Chinese calendar identifies as Ding-wei, the year of the Goat. The Goat year runs until the following Lunar New Year on January 26, 2028.

What Day Is Lunar New Year 2027?

Lunar New Year 2027 lands on a Saturday. Because it falls on a weekend, the date carries a few practical implications worth planning around:

• Work schedules: employers in countries with statutory Lunar New Year holidays may shift the official day off to a nearby weekday, since February 6 itself is already a non-working day for most.
• School calendars: institutions that build in multi-day breaks around the holiday often extend into the following week.
• Travel: the Saturday date means the heaviest travel period (the days just before and after) will overlap with a weekend, which can affect flight and train availability.
• Family gatherings: reunion dinners traditionally happen on New Year’s Eve, so Friday, February 5, 2027, is the key evening to keep clear.
• Event planning: businesses and organizers targeting the holiday should treat the Friday-to-Sunday window (February 5-7) as the core celebration period.

What Zodiac Year Begins With Lunar New Year 2027?

Lunar New Year 2027 begins the Year of the Goat. The same zodiac animal appears in English-language sources under three different names: Goat, Sheep, and Ram. These are not three separate signs; they are translation variants of one zodiac year. The Hong Kong Observatory uses “Goat,” while other calendar sources such as Timeanddate label it the “Year of the Sheep.” Either label refers to the same lunar year.

What Is the Fire Goat Year?

In the traditional Chinese calendar, each zodiac year is paired with one of five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, or Water. The 2027 year is paired with the Fire element, giving it the traditional designation Ding-wei, commonly rendered in English as the Fire Goat year. This is a calendrical label used to identify the year within a 60-year cycle. It is not a basis for personality predictions, and this guide does not treat it as one.

When Does the 2027 Goat Year End?

The Fire Goat year runs from February 6, 2027 through January 25, 2028. The next Lunar New Year begins on January 26, 2028, opening the following zodiac year.

When Is Chinese New Year’s Eve 2027?

Chinese New Year’s Eve, also called Spring Festival Eve, falls on Friday, February 5, 2027. This is the evening immediately before Lunar New Year’s Day and is when the traditional reunion dinner takes place, ahead of the new year beginning at midnight.

Why Is Lunar New Year on February 6 in 2027?

The date changes every year because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, not purely solar like the Gregorian calendar. A lunisolar calendar bases its months on the cycles of the moon, with each month starting on a new moon, while periodically adding an extra leap month to keep the calendar aligned with the solar year and the seasons.

Because lunar months run roughly 29 to 30 days and don’t divide evenly into a 365-day solar year, the first day of the Chinese calendar’s first month drifts across the Gregorian calendar from year to year. That’s why Lunar New Year can fall anywhere between late January and mid-February, and why it isn’t fixed on January 1 or any other single Gregorian date.

It’s also worth noting that Lunar New Year is tied to the new moon, not the full moon. The new moon marks the start of the lunar month, and the holiday always begins on that first day.

Is Lunar New Year the Same as Chinese New Year?

Not exactly. Chinese New Year is one specific cultural observance of the broader Lunar New Year, rooted in the Chinese calendar and celebrated in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Chinese communities worldwide. “Lunar New Year” is a broader umbrella term that also covers related but distinct New Year observances in other cultures, such as Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in South Korea. These holidays share a calendar structure but aren’t identical celebrations, which is part of why the exact date can differ by country.

Does Lunar New Year 2027 Fall on the Same Date Everywhere?

No. While most countries observe Lunar New Year on February 6, 2027, that isn’t universal. According to Timeanddate’s holiday listings, the date varies by country:

The difference comes down to each country’s own calendar calculations and cultural traditions, not a single shared date. Vietnam’s Tet and South Korea’s Seollal are calculated separately from the Chinese calendar, which is why they can land a day earlier or later.

How Long Does Lunar New Year 2027 Last?

Lunar New Year isn’t a single-day event. It breaks down into a few distinct periods:

• New Year’s Day: February 6, 2027, the start of the new lunar year and the main public holiday.
• Spring Festival period: the days immediately following New Year’s Day, typically through the sixth or seventh day of the lunar month (roughly February 7 to 11, 2027), when family visits and traditional activities continue.
• Lantern Festival: February 20, 2027, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month and traditionally marks the close of the New Year celebrations.

How long the holiday is formally observed varies by country and employer. Some places recognize just the first day or two as an official holiday, while others extend public holidays across most of the first week.

Lunar New Year 2027 Calendar at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Lunar New Year 2027?

Lunar New Year 2027 is on Saturday, February 6, 2027.

What day is Chinese New Year 2027?

Chinese New Year 2027 falls on a Saturday, February 6, 2027.

Is Lunar New Year February 6, 2027?

Yes, for China and most countries that observe the holiday. South Korea observes it on February 7, and Vietnam observes it on February 5.

What animal is 2027 in the Chinese zodiac?

2027 is the Year of the Goat, also called the Year of the Sheep or the Year of the Ram in different English translations.

Is 2027 the Year of the Goat or Sheep?

Both terms refer to the same zodiac year. Goat, Sheep, and Ram are alternate English translations of the same Chinese zodiac sign for 2027.

When is Chinese New Year’s Eve 2027?

Chinese New Year’s Eve falls on Friday, February 5, 2027, the night before the new lunar year begins.

When does the 2027 lunar year end?

The 2027 lunar year, the Fire Goat year, ends on January 25, 2028. The next Lunar New Year starts the following day.

Why does Lunar New Year change dates?

Lunar New Year moves because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar. Its months follow the moon’s cycle while leap months keep the calendar roughly aligned with the solar year, which causes the Gregorian date of New Year’s Day to shift annually.

Is Lunar New Year the same as Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year is the Chinese cultural observance of Lunar New Year. The broader term “Lunar New Year” also includes related but separately calculated holidays like Vietnam’s Tet and South Korea’s Seollal.

When is the next Lunar New Year after 2027?

The next Lunar New Year after 2027 is Wednesday, January 26, 2028.