Lunar Age Calculator

The age reckoning in ancient China, known as virtual age or lunar age, varies from that in modern times. As the traditional age reckoning in China, lunar age is also commonly used by other countries in East Asia to calculate the years after birth. In this system, people are one year old at birth and the age changes on the Spring Festival.

Lunar Age also virtual age or traditional age, is an important folk custom of the Chinese nation and it takes the Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) as the date of change of age. The reckoning of lunar age: people are born at the age of one and the age changes on the Spring Festival. Some people may be two years older than the actual or round age. The conversion is as follows:

1: Before the lunar birthday, virtual age = round age + 2; after the lunar birthday, virtual age = round age + 1.
2: Virtual age = current year (lunar) – birth year (lunar) + 1.

Example

For example, a mother-to-be was born on January 2, 1989 (November 25, 1988 in Chinese lunar calendar) and now it is January 2019 (2018 in Chinese lunar calendar), then her virtual age = 2018 - 1988 + 1 = 31.

Under what circumstances, the virtual age is always two years older than the round age?

If a baby was born in the 12th lunar month, then he is one year old at birth and two years old after the Spring Festival in terms of virtual age. But in fact, he is less than one month old!