June 21, 2010, happened to be my mom’s Chinese lunar birthday. Her driver’s license birth date was actually a week ago, but because the Chinese (lunisolar) calendar is calculated differently than the Western (Gregorian) calendar, she was able to have two birthdays this year. Party time!

Chinese calendar birthdays land on different Gregorian calendar dates every year. So just because my mom’s Chinese birthday is on June 21 this year doesn’t mean that it will be on June 21 next year.

And you thought remembering birthdays was difficult…

The Chinese calendar has twelve months, but it follows the moon’s cycle instead of the sun’s cycle. In the Gregorian calendar, New Year’s Day is always on January 1. Chinese New Year, on the other hand, changes every year. In 2010, it happened to fall on Valentine’s Day, February 14, but in 2011, it will be on February 3.

Sounds awesome (and slightly complicated), no?

My Gregorian birth date is July 2, 1986. My Chinese birth date is the 26th day of the 5th lunar month in the lunisolar year 1986. My driver’s license birthday will always fall on July 2, but the 26th day of the 5th lunar month of 2010 happens to be on July 7 this year. I get to celebrate twice!

TO CALCULATE YOUR LUNAR BIRTHDAY…

Go to this site and enter your birth date. Click Gregorian Calendar when you’re done.

After you click, a page will come up displaying the Western calendar date with the corresponding Chinese lunar date. You want to look for the lunar month, see if it is a leap month or not, and the day of the month.

Now that you know what lunar month and day you were born on, you can figure out what date that happens to fall on on the Gregorian calendar.

Go to this site to complete your conversion.

Select convert lunar to solar. In the lunar year box, scroll down to 2010. In the month box, enter your lunar month. In the day box, enter your lunar date. Check the little box if you happen to be a leap month baby. For me, my month would be 5 and day would be 26. Hit submit.

After you hit submit, you will see the solar (Gregorian) month and day in 2010 that corresponds with the 2010 lunar month and day.

My Chinese lunar birthday happens to be five days after (July 7) my Gregorian solar birthday (July 2). Cool, huh?

THE CHINESE ZODIAC

I was born in the Year of the Tiger. When I was born, my parents put a gold tiger necklace around my neck to protect me and bring good luck. Apparently, I added some teeth marks to that necklace.

2010 happens to be the Year of the Tiger. According to my mom, this means that big things are supposed to and will happen. I guess they have already!

When I was growing up, my parents told me the Chinese Zodiac story that explained how the animals ended up in the order that they’re in. The unlikely gathering story is the one I’ve been told, with a slight difference. The version that my parents told me had the Jade Emperor inviting all the animals, not Buddha.

TO FIND YOUR ZODIAC SIGN…

Go to this site and enter your Gregorian calendar birthday (your birth certificate date).

I happen to be a Fire Tiger. I think the personality analysis is actually quite accurate.

Tigers love to be challenged and will accept any challenge if it means protecting a loved one or protecting their honor.

They don’t worry about the outcome because they know they’ll always land on their feet.

Expressive, vibrant and a bit eccentric, Fire Tigers are always looking at the positive side of every situation.

 

NOW YOUR TURN…

When is your Gregorian birthday?
When is your Chinese Lunar birthday?
What day does your Chinese birthday fall on in 2010?
What is your Chinese Zodiac sign?
Is the personality description accurate? Why or why not?