Besides Solar Calendar, the Chinese also have a Chinese Lunar Calendar. It is a yearly one based on the moon’s rotation around the earth. Due to the cyclical dating, the beginning and the ending of each year are different.

This calendar is always used to determine festivals, such as Spring Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, etc. What’s more, it names each of the twelve years after an animal.

According to the calendar, the year 2009 is the year of the ox and it lasts from January 26, 2009 to February 14, 2010.