East Asian Lunar Calendar — for the diaspora and culture enthusiasts
This is not a US holiday calendar. It's a converter and dual-calendar view for the East Asian lunar calendar — the system shared (with small variations) across China, Korea, Vietnam, and parts of Japan. If you're a Korean-American checking your grandmother's lunar birthday, a Chinese-American planning Lunar New Year, or anyone curious about the Sexagenary cycle and 24 solar terms, this is for you.
For US federal holidays (Independence Day, Thanksgiving, etc.), use a regular Gregorian calendar app — they have nothing to do with the lunar system.
Chinese New Year — when is it this year?
The Lunar New Year falls between January 21 and February 20 each Gregorian year. To find this year's date, switch to Lunar → Gregorian, enter the lunar year, month 1, day 1, leave "leap month" unchecked, and the Gregorian date appears instantly. The dual-calendar view below also marks it with the Festivals label automatically.
East Asian festivals shown in the calendar
The dual-calendar view marks these recurring lunar festivals (observed by various East Asian communities, not US federal):
- Lunar New Year (Lunar 1/1) — Spring Festival, Seollal, Tết
- Lantern Festival (Lunar 1/15) — Yuanxiao, Daeboreum
- Qingming (around April 4–6) — Tomb Sweeping Day, tied to a solar term
- Dragon Boat Festival (Lunar 5/5) — Duanwu, Tết Đoan Ngọ
- Qixi (Lunar 7/7) — "Chinese Valentine's"
- Mid-Autumn Festival (Lunar 8/15) — Chuseok, Trung Thu
- Double Ninth (Lunar 9/9) — Chongyang
Leap months — why some years have 13 lunar months
To reconcile lunar months (~29.5 days) with the solar year (~365.25 days), the calendar inserts a leap month roughly 7 times every 19 years. If your grandmother's lunar birthday falls in a leap month (e.g. "leap 6th"), tick the Leap month box for an accurate Gregorian date.
Sexagenary cycle — Year, Month, Day pillars
The Sexagenary cycle pairs 10 Heavenly Stems (Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui) with 12 Earthly Branches (Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai), producing a 60-year cycle. The result card shows year, month, and day pillars in both Chinese characters and Pinyin transliteration.
24 solar terms — agricultural and seasonal markers
Solar terms (e.g. Beginning of Spring, Summer Solstice, Greater Heat, Winter Solstice) are 24 fixed points tied to the sun's position. The "Next solar term" card shows which one is coming up and how many days away — useful for traditional cooking, seasonal poetry, or simply staying connected to the natural year.
FAQ
- Why doesn't this calendar show US holidays?
- Because the lunar calendar is unrelated to US federal holidays. Mixing them would dilute the tool. For US holidays, use any standard calendar app. This tool focuses on what no general calendar does well: the East Asian lunar system.
- Are Korean / Japanese / Vietnamese lunar calendars different?
- The astronomical base is the same (the Chinese lunar calendar). Each country has its own holiday names and some unique festivals. Switch language (KO / JA) for those market-specific festival lists; this EN view shows the pan–East Asian set.
- How accurate are the conversions?
- This tool uses lunar-javascript (MIT) with astronomical data covering 1900–2099. Results may differ by ±1 day from official Chinese or Korean meteorological office bulletins on rare occasions.
- Why doesn't the zodiac change on January 1st?
- The Chinese zodiac year traditionally starts at Lunar New Year (or sometimes the solar term Beginning of Spring), not January 1st. People born in January or early February often have ambiguous zodiac signs — this tool removes the guesswork.
- Where is my input stored?
- Nowhere. All conversions run in your browser. The "Copy URL" button only includes the date you've selected, never any other data.