Chinese Lunar Calendar 2027: Every Month's Start Date and No Leap Month

The Chinese lunar calendar for 2027 has 12 months and no leap month, and its first month begins on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027, according to the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) conversion table for the Year of the Goat. The lunar year runs 354 days, to Jan. 25, 2028. This page lists every month’s start date, length and solar terms in one table. The festival story, Lunar New Year 2027 and the Year of the Goat, covers the zodiac and the New Year season.

Chinese lunar calendar 2027: start date of every month

HKO dates are Hong Kong dates, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) plus 8 hours. A new moon that falls on one date in Hong Kong can fall on the previous evening in the Americas, so a start date may look a day earlier on a U.S. clock. Month lengths below are counted from the start dates in the HKO table.

Lunar month	Starts (2027)	Weekday	Days	Solar terms inside
12th (Horse year)	Jan. 8	Friday	29	Severe Cold (Jan. 20), Spring Commences (Feb. 4)
1st	Feb. 6	Saturday	30	Spring Showers (Feb. 19), Insects Waken (March 6)
2nd	March 8	Monday	30	Vernal Equinox (March 21), Bright & Clear (April 5)
3rd	April 7	Wednesday	29	Corn Rain (April 20)
4th	May 6	Thursday	30	Summer Commences (May 6), Corn Forms (May 21)
5th	June 5	Saturday	29	Corn on Ear (June 6), Summer Solstice (June 21)
6th	July 4	Sunday	29	Moderate Heat (July 7), Great Heat (July 23)
7th	Aug. 2	Monday	30	Autumn Commences (Aug. 8), End of Heat (Aug. 23)
8th	Sept. 1	Wednesday	29	White Dew (Sept. 8), Autumnal Equinox (Sept. 23)
9th	Sept. 30	Thursday	29	Cold Dew (Oct. 8), Frost (Oct. 23)
10th	Oct. 29	Friday	30	Winter Commences (Nov. 7), Light Snow (Nov. 22)
11th	Nov. 28	Sunday	30	Heavy Snow (Dec. 7), Winter Solstice (Dec. 22)
12th	Dec. 28	Tuesday	29	None in 2027

The first row belongs to the Year of the Horse, which began on Feb. 17, 2026. The 10th and 11th months of that year start on Nov. 9 and Dec. 9, 2026, according to the HKO 2026 table. Add the 12 lengths from the 1st month through the 12th and you get 354 days. In 2027, six months have 30 days and six have 29.

Is there a leap month in the 2027 Chinese calendar?

No. The HKO 2027 table lists each lunar month once, so 2027 has 12 months. HKO explains that a normal year has 12 months “and 13 months in a leap year,” and that “the extra month is called a ‘leap month’.”

The standard rule explains why. The 24 solar terms come from the solar calendar, and every second term is a “principal” term: Severe Cold, Spring Showers, Vernal Equinox, Corn Rain, Corn Forms, Summer Solstice, Great Heat, End of Heat, Autumnal Equinox, Frost, Light Snow and the Winter Solstice. Each lunar month from the 1st to the 11th in the table above contains one principal term, so none needs to be repeated to catch up with the seasons. A month with no principal term would be the leap month.

The next leap month comes in 2028. The HKO 2028 table lists the 5th lunar month twice, starting on May 24 and June 23, and the second is the leap month. The 2028 lunar year opens on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2028, the Year of the Monkey.

The 24 solar terms in 2027

The HKO table dates the 24 solar terms for 2027 as follows. Names are HKO’s English names.

Term	Date	Term	Date
Moderate Cold	Jan. 5	Moderate Heat	July 7
Severe Cold	Jan. 20	Great Heat	July 23
Spring Commences	Feb. 4	Autumn Commences	Aug. 8
Spring Showers	Feb. 19	End of Heat	Aug. 23
Insects Waken	March 6	White Dew	Sept. 8
Vernal Equinox	March 21	Autumnal Equinox	Sept. 23
Bright & Clear	April 5	Cold Dew	Oct. 8
Corn Rain	April 20	Frost	Oct. 23
Summer Commences	May 6	Winter Commences	Nov. 7
Corn Forms	May 21	Light Snow	Nov. 22
Corn on Ear	June 6	Heavy Snow	Dec. 7
Summer Solstice	June 21	Winter Solstice	Dec. 22

Festival dates that follow the lunar months in 2027

Counting from the month starts gives these dates, which match the Hong Kong Labour Department’s list of 2027 statutory holidays where it names them.

Festival	Lunar date	Date in 2027
Lantern Festival	15th day, 1st month	Saturday, Feb. 20
Dragon Boat (Tuen Ng)	5th day, 5th month	Wednesday, June 9
Qixi	7th day, 7th month	Sunday, Aug. 8
Mid-Autumn	15th day, 8th month	Wednesday, Sept. 15
Chung Yeung	9th day, 9th month	Friday, Oct. 8

The Labour Department lists Lunar New Year’s Day on 6 February and the third and fourth days on 8 and 9 February, because the second day is a Sunday. Ching Ming Festival is 5 April, the day of the Bright & Clear term, and the Birthday of the Buddha is 13 May. The Tuen Ng Festival is 9 June, the day after Mid-Autumn is 16 September, and Chung Yeung is 8 October. For the Chinese Winter Solstice Festival or Christmas Day, employers choose 22 or 25 December. For moon times on those nights, see our 2027 moon phases calendar.

Print the 2027 lunar month starts

The free printable marks the Hong Kong statutory holidays that follow the lunar calendar on a one-page 2027 calendar, using the Labour Department dates above; the month starts are in the table on this page. Pair it with the 2027 printable yearly calendar, or open the February 2027 printable calendar for the first lunar month. Another lunar calendar with its own rules is covered in Ramadan 2027 dates.