China is experiencing a booming nostalgia trend as people rush to purchase old calendars from 1996 in celebration of the upcoming New Year 2024.
According to Chinadaily, both 2024 and 1996 are leap years, with the New Year starting on a Monday. This leads to the fact that the calendars for 1996 and 2024 are identical. Both years have 366 days, unlike most years which have 365 days.
Old calendars from 1996 being sold online in China. (Photo: SCMP).
Data from Xianyu, a popular online marketplace for second-hand goods in China, shows that searches for the 1996 calendar have surged sixfold in the past week, with transaction volumes reaching record highs.
A man named Li, born in 1996, shared with Chinadaily about the coincidence between the calendars for 1996 and 2024: “It’s amazing to compare the Sundays!”
Li purchased a wall calendar from 1996 featuring Hong Kong actor and singer Aaron Kwok for 69 yuan (approximately $9.6) to celebrate his birthday. Additionally, he considers this a worthwhile investment for a fan of Aaron Kwok like himself.
Xianyu has reported a spike in both listings and purchases of the 1996 calendar since January 1st. On January 9th, over 400 users searched for unique 1996 calendar sets, pushing the average price of this item to around 94 yuan (approximately 324,000 VND). A calendar page featuring famous characters such as Mickey Mouse or Ultraman has seen its value increase by 30 times.
Some sellers even offer individual calendar pages priced between 9.9 yuan and 35 yuan per page. A page from the 1970s costs 35 yuan, while a page from 1996 is priced at 27 yuan.
One seller emphasized that vintage calendars hold high prices because they have been well-preserved over time. They explained: “They are not just paper; they are priceless memories.”
Although the Gregorian calendars for 1996 and 2024 are completely identical, the lunar calendars for these two years differ.
