What is the present Chinese year?

In 1962  the Chinese celebrated their New year’s Day on Monday, February 5. Their calendar is much older than ours. From ancient, writings we know that they were counting the years, one by one, more than 2000 years before our Christian Era began. Most Chinese scholars tell us that this is the year 4239 on their calendar. Each year is named for an animal and this is the Chinese Year of the Tiger.

The Chinese use our calendar side by side with their own. Most of them do not keep Sunday as a work free day, but they take many other holidays. Their New Year's Day is a great holiday, for it is also the day on which everybody celebrates his birthday. Every Chinese baby born during our 1962 will have his first birthday on Chinese New year’s Day in February 1963.