So, the other day, I was just kicking back, and this question just sort of floated into my head: “When is the next Year of the Snake, anyway?” It’s not like I was actively thinking about Chinese zodiac signs or anything, it just popped up. You know how those random thoughts go.
My first instinct, like most folks, was just to mumble it at my phone or type it into a search bar real quick. And yeah, I got some dates, but it wasn’t immediately obvious, and I realized it’s not like asking “When’s Christmas?” which is, you know, always December 25th. This Chinese New Year thing, it moves around. That got me a bit more curious.
Figuring Out This Whole Cycle Thing
I remembered there’s a whole system to it, with the different animals. So, I figured, “Alright, let’s actually understand this a bit.” I started digging around, not too deep, just enough to get the gist. Turns out, there are 12 animal signs, and they go in a cycle. Each year gets an animal, and then it repeats. Simple enough, right?
So, the trick was to find a recent Year of the Snake and then just do some basic math. I vaguely recalled 2013 being a Snake year, or maybe I saw it on one of the lists I glanced at. Once I had that anchor point, it became easier.
If 2013 was a Snake year, then to find the next one, you just add 12 years. And to find previous ones, you subtract 12. It’s a pretty straightforward pattern once you know about the 12-year loop.
So, When IS It?
After that little bit of mental gymnastics and checking, I got my answer. And since I went through the trouble, I thought I’d share!
Here are some of the Years of the Snake:
- 1989
- 2001
- 2013
- 2025 <– This is the next one!
- 2037
So, if you were wondering like I was, the upcoming Year of the Snake is 2025. It usually starts sometime in late January or February, because it’s based on the lunar calendar, not the January-to-December one most of us use day-to-day for other stuff. That’s why the date isn’t fixed.
Anyway, that was my little journey of figuring it out. It’s kinda neat how these traditional cycles work. Just a random question leading to a bit of learning. Hope this helps someone else who might have had the same thought bubble pop up!
