Free tool
New Year first-footer check
Choosing a first-footer weighs that person's year against the host's and against the incoming year's branch, then ranks all sixty stem-branch years. The ranking deliberately leaves out the visitor's presiding star, because sources do not agree on which star set applies here. Adding an unsettled layer would only make the score look more certain than it is.
Rank all 60 stem-branch ages for the person who first enters your home at Tết, by branch relation, destiny element, the three folk taboos and Thái Tuế, with the actual birth years listed so you can recognise someone you know. Host's birth year only.
Learn more
What goes into choosing a first-footer, and what can a calculator not see?
Xông đất is the custom of the first person to enter a home after the turn of the lunar year. Folk belief holds that their presence colours the household's whole year, so many families choose someone in advance and invite them at an agreed hour. The choice compares that person's birth year with the host's and with the incoming year itself.
This page scores all 60 stem-branch ages on four criteria, and publishes the scoring. First, the branch relation between guest and host: Tam Hợp or Lục Hợp earn the most, while the clashing four and the Lục Hại pairs lose points. Second, the nạp âm destiny elements of the two people: generating beats neutral, neutral beats clashing. Third, the guest is not themselves under Kim Lâu, Hoang Ốc or Tam Tai that year. Fourth, it is not their own zodiac year (Thái Tuế).
Results list the actual Gregorian birth years, not just the stem-branch name. That difference decides whether the tool is usable: knowing to invite "someone of Canh Ngọ" still leaves you with nobody to call, whereas "someone born in 1990" sends you straight to your contacts. Each age also shows which criteria it gained or lost on, so you can weigh it yourself rather than trust a number.
Gender is deliberately left out of the score. Some texts advise choosing a man, but that is custom rather than calculation, and turning it into points would dress a social bias as an objective finding. If your family follows it, apply it yourself; the page will not apply it for you.
The score is this site's own ranking convention, not a shared standard. Sources name the same broad factors but none publishes weights, so any site quoting an absolute figure is inventing its own scale. We publish ours so it can be checked.
The things that matter most fall outside the arithmetic: whether the person is in mourning, their health and spirits, whether their own household is at peace, and above all whether you genuinely value them and they are glad to come. Someone of a fitting age who was pressured into arriving on New Year's morning does not carry the spirit of the custom.
| Criterion | Gains points when | Loses points when |
|---|---|---|
| Branch relation to the host | Tam Hợp or Lục Hợp | The clashing four, or a Lục Hại pair |
| Nạp âm elements of the pair | Generating, then neutral | Clashing |
| The three taboos that year | Clear of all three | Under Kim Lâu, Hoang Ốc or Tam Tai |
| Thái Tuế | Not their own zodiac year | Their own zodiac year |
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a birth date and hour to choose a first-footer?
No. All four criteria read the BIRTH YEAR alone: branch relation, nạp âm element, the three taboos by lunar age, and Thái Tuế. None of the arithmetic touches day, month or hour. The page asks only for the host's birth year, and returns birth years rather than individuals.
Why does one age list several birth years?
Stem-branch names repeat on a 60-year cycle, so one name covers people exactly 60 years apart. The page lists the birth years that fall within a realistic living range so you can find someone you actually know, rather than giving only the name.
Does the first-footer have to be a man?
That is custom in some places, not calculation, so this page keeps gender out of the score. Including it would dress a social bias as an objective finding. If your family follows it, apply it yourself when picking from the list.
What if nobody of a suitable age can come?
In practice many households do it themselves: a family member steps outside before midnight and comes back in after the year turns. The list here is a suggestion, not a requirement, and being unable to invite anyone does not mean the year ahead will go badly.
Is the score here a shared standard?
No. Sources name the same factors but none publishes weights, so every site invents its own scale. We publish the exact scoring in use so it can be checked against other tables, instead of quoting a number that cannot be explained.
Is there a scientific basis for this custom?
No. This is folk knowledge and is best treated as a New Year cultural practice, not a forecast. The result should not decide serious matters, nor be used to blame anyone if the year turns out difficult.
When should the first-footer arrive?
By custom the first-footer is the FIRST person to enter after midnight, so they are usually invited just after the year turns or early on the first morning, before any other guest. Arrange it in advance and ask how they feel about it, since the heart of the custom is that they come gladly.