Li Chun meaning, in plain terms: it is the first of the 24 Chinese solar terms, literally "spring begins" (立 li, to establish; 春 chun, spring). It marks the astronomical start of spring when the sun reaches 315 degrees of celestial longitude. In 2026 that exact moment lands on Wednesday, 4 February at 4:02am Singapore time. The reason your relatives keep mentioning it is the money custom layered on top: many Singaporeans deposit a sum on Li Chun to "plant" wealth for a prosperous year. Below is what the term actually means, where the deposit ritual really came from, the zodiac timetable everyone shares, and the part the feng shui charts skip: where your money grows after the deposit clears.
Li Chun (立春) is a solar term, not a lunar date. The traditional Chinese calendar splits the solar year into 24 terms tied to the sun's position, and Li Chun is the first of them, signalling the changeover into spring. It is an astronomical event with a precise timestamp, the same way an equinox is.
Because it follows the sun rather than the moon, Li Chun lands on roughly the same Gregorian day each year, the 3rd, 4th or 5th of February. For 2026, the sun hits 315 degrees of celestial longitude at 4:02am on 4 February, Singapore time (20:02 UTC on 3 February). That is the moment spring formally begins under the system; the solar term itself runs until about 18 February before the next term takes over.
One quirk worth knowing for 2026: it is a 双春年 (shuang chun nian), a "double spring" year, where two Li Chun fall inside the same lunar year. This happens when the lunar new year sits early enough that one Li Chun arrives just before it and another just before the following one. It is treated as auspicious for marriages and new ventures, which is part of why the 2026 version gets extra attention.
The belief is straightforward: putting money into the bank as spring begins is said to symbolise planting wealth that grows through the year, the same logic as sowing seeds at the start of a growing season. People deposit a sum on the day itself, often into a savings account, sometimes topping up a fixed deposit or investment account, and treat it as setting the tone for the year's cash flow.
Here is the part the zodiac charts leave out. The deposit-money ritual is not an ancient rite. Li Chun the solar term is genuinely old, but tying it specifically to bank deposits is widely traced to bank and feng shui-master marketing in Singapore and Malaysia during the 2000s. It caught on, spread on social media, and now feels traditional. Knowing that does not make the custom wrong, plenty of people enjoy it as a feel-good new-year habit, but it should change how seriously you treat the exact-minute timing versus the actual destination of the cash.
If you want the gesture to mean something financially, the honest move is to route the Li Chun deposit somewhere that compounds. Run the numbers first with the compound interest calculator so the "planting wealth" metaphor has a real return attached, instead of cash sitting in a 0.05% basic account for the rest of the year.
The single date everyone needs is 4 February 2026 (Wednesday). The commonly shared overall auspicious window runs from 3:00am to 9:00pm Singapore time on that day. Feng shui masters single out 7:00am to 8:59am as the strongest slot for most signs, which is exactly why bank branches see queues before they open.
If you would rather skip the crowd, the timing is easy to honour digitally. A PayNow transfer, a PayLah! top-up, an internet-banking transfer or an ATM deposit all timestamp instantly, so you can "deposit on Li Chun" from your phone at 7am without leaving the house.
| Detail | 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| Date | Wednesday, 4 February 2026 |
| Exact solar moment | 4:02am SGT (sun at 315 degrees longitude) |
| Overall auspicious window | 3:00am to 9:00pm |
| Strongest slot (most signs) | 7:00am to 8:59am |
| Year type | 双春年 / double-spring year |
| Easiest method | PayNow, PayLah!, internet banking, ATM |
Feng shui charts assign each sign its own favourable hours on 4 February. The list below is the version circulated for 2026. Treat it as a custom to enjoy, not financial advice; the timestamp on your transfer is what banks record, so any minute inside your window counts.
| Zodiac | Auspicious hours |
|---|---|
| Rat | 7am to 9am |
| Ox | 7am to 9am |
| Tiger | 7am to 9am, 11am to 1pm, 7pm to 9pm |
| Rabbit | 7am to 9am, 1pm to 3pm, 7pm to 9pm |
| Dragon | 7am to 9am, 5pm to 7pm |
| Snake | 7am to 9am, 5pm to 7pm |
| Horse | 3am to 5am, 7am to 9am, 1pm to 3pm, 7pm to 9pm |
| Goat | 7am to 9am, 11am to 1pm |
| Monkey | 7am to 9am, 9am to 11am |
| Rooster | 7am to 9am, 9am to 11am |
| Dog | 3am to 5am, 7am to 9am, 11am to 1pm |
| Pig | 3am to 5am, 7am to 9am, 1pm to 3pm |
There is no fixed sum. People pick amounts ending in 8 (sounds like 发, prosper) and avoid 4 (sounds like death). Common choices are token figures like $88, $168, $888 or $1,688, scaled to whatever the depositor can spare. The point is the symbolism, so the number matters more than the size.
Set the amount by your actual budget, not by the chart. If you are already saving toward something this year, a Li Chun deposit is a tidy excuse to fund it; sanity-check the target with the savings goal calculator and make the lucky number the monthly contribution rather than a one-off you then forget.
This is the bit the deposit-money posts never cover, and it is the only bit that changes your bank balance in December. A lucky 7am deposit into an account paying near-zero does nothing the year cannot undo. The return you choose on 4 February matters far more than the minute you transfer.
As of June 2026, a high-interest account beats a basic one by a wide margin. The OCBC 360 pays up to 1.95% p.a. on the first S$100,000 when you meet salary, save and spend criteria; the UOB One pays up to 1.90% p.a. on the first S$150,000 with S$500 card spend plus salary credit; the DBS Multiplier suits under-29s with waived fall-below fees and a 1.50% p.a. entry tier on the first S$50,000 from card or PayLah! spend alone. UOB also ran a Stack Your Cash promotion paying up to S$700 cash on new funds until 30 June 2026, so timing a deposit to an active promo can beat the feng shui slot outright. Compare the live options in our best savings accounts guide before you park the cash.
If you would rather lock the money away and forget it, the June 2026 Singapore Savings Bond carries a 10-year average return of 2.11% p.a. with full capital protection, which is a cleaner "plant and grow" than any savings account for money you will not touch. Weigh it against T-bills and fixed deposits in our SSB vs T-bill vs fixed deposit comparison, and check how the effective savings rate is actually calculated so the headline number does not mislead you. A higher fixed deposit rate locks in certainty if you want it.
Say you deposit a symbolic $8,888 on Li Chun. Left in a 0.05% basic account it earns about $4 over the year. In an account hitting 1.90% p.a. it earns roughly $169. The custom costs you nothing extra to do well; you simply pick the destination with the rate, not the basic account your salary already lands in.
Money is only one strand. Li Chun has older, non-financial traditions that long predate any bank promotion, and they are the part with genuine cultural roots.
Li Chun (立春) means "spring begins" and is the first of the 24 Chinese solar terms. It marks the astronomical start of spring, the moment the sun reaches 315 degrees of celestial longitude, which in 2026 falls at 4:02am Singapore time on 4 February.
The commonly shared overall window is 3:00am to 9:00pm on 4 February 2026, with 7:00am to 8:59am singled out as strongest for most zodiac signs. Each sign has its own favourable hours, but any digital transfer timestamped inside the day counts.
No. Li Chun the solar term is genuinely old, but tying it specifically to bank deposits is widely traced to bank and feng shui-master marketing in Singapore and Malaysia during the 2000s. Many people still enjoy it as a feel-good new-year habit.
There is no fixed amount. People choose figures ending in 8 for prosperity, such as $88, $168, $888 or $1,688, scaled to their budget. The symbolism matters more than the size, so set the sum by what you can genuinely afford to save.
Far more than the timing. A high-interest account like OCBC 360 (up to 1.95% p.a.) or UOB One (up to 1.90% p.a.) versus a basic 0.05% account is the difference between a few dollars and well over a hundred dollars of interest on the same deposit over a year.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.