1956 / Chinese zodiac
1956 Chinese Zodiac: Fire Monkey
1956 is the Year of the Fire Monkey. It begins on February 12, 1956 and ends on January 30, 1957. If you were born before February 12, 1956, your sign is the Wood Goat.
01 / Check the boundary
What is my Chinese zodiac if I was born in 1956?
Two zodiac signs fall within the Gregorian year 1956. Choose the row containing your birthday. These dates include both the first and last day; the animal changes at Chinese New Year, not on January 1.
| Gregorian birthday | Animal & year element |
|---|---|
| – | Wood Goat 羊 |
| – | Fire Monkey 猴 |
The full 1956 lunar year continues into 1957, through January 30, 1957. A birthday on February 11, 1956 belongs to the Goat; a birthday one day later, on February 12, 1956, belongs to the Monkey.
YOUR STORY STARTS HERE
When were you born?
YOUR RESULT
02 / The story of the year
What kind of Monkey is 1956?
1956 is a Fire Monkey year. Its stem-branch name is 丙申 (bǐng-shēn): the heavenly stem 丙 carries yang fire, and the earthly branch 申 corresponds to the Monkey.
- Zodiac animal
- Monkey · 猴
- Year element
- Fire
- Stem & branch
- 丙申 · bǐng-shēn
- Lunar year length
- 354 days
Monkey personality in tradition
The Monkey is often associated with cleverness and playfulness, familiar qualities in Chinese storytelling.
The phrase “curious & inventive” describes a traditional association with this animal, rather than a rule about everyone born in 1956. The year element is one part of the calendar; it does not establish a person's complete five-elements or Bāzì chart.
我属猴。
Wǒ shǔ hóu. “I was born in the Year of the Monkey.”
Monkey compatibility in folklore
Monkey, Rat and Dragon form a traditional harmony group of three. Tiger sits opposite Monkey, six places away in the twelve-animal cycle. These describe symbolic positions, not evidence of who will make a good partner.
Explore traditional pairings →03 / A closer look at the dates
1956 lunar calendar at a glance
This Monkey year contains 12 lunar months and 354 days. There is no leap lunar month in this year. A leap month keeps the same animal and year element. The table follows the full lunar year, so its final months extend into 1957.
| Lunar month | Begins | Ends | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 29 | ||
| Month 2 | 30 | ||
| Month 3 | 29 | ||
| Month 4 | 30 | ||
| Month 5 | 29 | ||
| Month 6 | 29 | ||
| Month 7 | 30 | ||
| Month 8 | 29 | ||
| Month 9 | 30 | ||
| Month 10 | 29 | ||
| Month 11 | 30 | ||
| Month 12 | 30 |
Sources & calendar convention
Dates are calculated from our local lunar-month dataset. The links below provide the Observatory’s calendar for this Gregorian year and an explanation of the stem-branch cycle. Cultural interpretations are introductory folklore, not predictions.