Historic Moments

100+ years of celebrating Lunar New Year

Celebrating the Chinese lunar calendar has been a Wells Fargo tradition since 1912.
Colorful painting showing a man in Chinese court costume delivering a roll of silk while another looks on. Superimposed is a red calendar dated 1967 with Wells Fargo’s name on the bottom. Under the bank’s name is the bank’s name in Chinese Characters.
Featured photo caption: Wells Fargo produced this calendar for its Chinese customers in 1967.
Photo Credit: Wells Fargo Corporate Archives.

Did you know that Wells Fargo has celebrated Lunar New Year for over 100 years?

Lunar New Year, which marks the start of the Chinese lunar calendar, represents weeks of celebration with fireworks, parades, and private moments of housecleaning and preparation for the year ahead.

For more than a century, Wells Fargo has produced a unique calendar to celebrate the Lunar New Year with customers and employees. Enjoy this selection of Lunar New Year calendars from the Wells Fargo Corporate Archives.

Earliest Wells Fargo lunar calendars

The earliest lunar calendars issued by Wells Fargo were produced by Chinese printing companies and designed to appeal specifically to Chinese-speaking customers. The calendars issued during this period counted days in the lunar calendar in green and the solar calendar in red.

1923 calendar featuring a Wells Fargo stagecoach illustration in black ink, Chinese characters in red ink and the characters in green ink mark the days according to the lunar calendar. Image link will enlarge image.
Earliest known Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 1912.
On this 1923 calendar featuring a Wells Fargo stagecoach illustration, the characters in green mark the days according to the lunar calendar. The days of the Western calendar, which appear in red, count time based on the earth’s revolution around the sun.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 1923.

Colorful and collectible celebrations of Asian art

Over time, the calendars shifted their design to become increasingly decorative. People loved the colorful prints with ornate gold embellishments; they collected and displayed the popular calendars in their homes and businesses. The calendars sometimes featured historic Asian art and artifacts. Regardless of the design, the calendars continued to mark days in both the solar and lunar systems.

Calendars in the 1970s feature Wells Fargo’s Chinese name represented by four Chinese characters (rich, country, money, house). The characters were chosen by a San Francisco bank manager in Chinatown who felt they better appealed to the customers he saw every day. The characters continue to represent Wells Fargo today.

1941 calendar with red backing and pages of the month at bottom meant to be torn off as the months passed. In center is a round image of two people, one standing holding a fan and the other seated holding a pole, in vibrant greens, blues and purples. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 1941.
1945 calendar with red backing and pages of the month at bottom meant to be torn off as the months passed. In center is a square mosaic of a person in gold, purple, blue and red. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 1945.
1963 calendar with blue backing and pages in center meant to be torn off as the months passed. On left is a gold statue of a man seated in a throne with a black beard wearing a crown. On right is a gold statue of a woman seated on a throne wearing a crown. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 1963.
1973 calendar features Asian art featuring two birds on a branch.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 1973.
1971 calendar with white backing and pages of the month at bottom meant to be torn off as the months passed. The large, central illustration is a watercolor painting of a Chinese pagoda building in red on a cliffside with a village beneath it. Village residents are seen walking beneath the trees. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 1976.

Telling time with zodiac animals

During the 1990s, calendars began to feature the animals of the zodiac, which features 12 years named after animals, each with their own traits. Some calendars during this time dropped the lunar calendar markings but continued featuring the zodiac animal theme.

The pattern began with the Year of the Rooster in 1993. That same year, Wells Fargo first sponsored local Lunar New Year celebrations in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Since then, Wells Fargo has completed three cycles of animal zodiac in calendar art. In recent years, Wells Fargo commissioned artists to design unique calendars with a compelling story narrative.

1993 calendar with an illustration of a rooster in the foreground with a Western landscape and stagecoach in the background. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 1993.
1994 calendar with grey background and image of a dog perched on top of a wood Wells Fargo & Co treasure box with a blue border. All 12 months are listed at the bottom of the calendar. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo calendar, 1994. Year of the Dog. Lunar dates are omitted. Issued in Chinese and Vietnamese.
1995 calendar with blue backing and an illustration of a stagecoach pulled by 6 horses traveling over a Chinese landscape with hills in the background and farmers tending to their pigs in the foreground. All 12 months are listed at the bottom of the calendar. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo calendar, 1995. Year of the Pig/Boar.
1996 calendar with grey backing and an illustration of a stagecoach pulled by 6 horses in the center. Above that is a large pink rat illustration and the words “Why the rat came first.” All 12 months are listed at the bottom of the calendar. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo calendar, 1996. Year of the Rat.
2001 scroll calendar with yellow backing and an illustration of a multicolored snake in the center. All 12 months are listed to either the right or the left of the snake. A red Wells Fargo logo box is at the bottom. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 2001. Year of the Snake. Issued as a scroll.
2002 calendar cover with red background and four circular illustrations of a horses in pink, green, orange, and blue. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 2002. Year of the Horse. Cover art shown.
2003 calendar cover with red background and three illustrations of sheep with colored patterns in blue and yellow, purple and green, and orange and red, A gold band on the left has the Wells Fargo box logo. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 2003. Year of the Sheep/Goat.
2004 calendar cover with red background and a circle illustration of playful monkeys in green, pink, orange, blue and purple. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 2004. Year of the Monkey.
2008 calendar cover with yellow background and a circle illustration of a wreath of flowers with a white rat in lower left of circle. Bottom of calendar says 2008 in both Chinese and English. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 2008. Year of the Rat.
2011 calendar cover with orange to brown ombre background and an illustration of a white rabbit poking through the “0” in 2011 at the bottom. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 2011. Year of the Rabbit/Cat.
2012 calendar cover with green to grey ombre background and an illustration of a circular dragon in the center and the Wells Fargo box logo at the bottom and Chinese characters below. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 2012. Year of the Dragon.
2018 illustrated calendar cover with light green hill and blue sky in background and dark green grass with pink flowers in foreground. Sitting in the tall grass is a white and brown dog. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, Year of the Dog, 2018.
2021 illustrated calendar cover with tan background. All four seasons are represented, from clockwise they are: Spring-pink blossoms in tree, Winter-snow- and ice-covered landscape, Fall-orange leaves, and Summer-fruit being harvested in green tree branches. In center of image is a large, brown ox. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 2021. Year of the Ox.
2022 illustrated calendar cover with pink background. In center is a large orange tiger and behind that are four more tigers in black, white, green and red. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo lunar calendar, 2022. Year of the Tiger.
2023 illustrated calendar cover with green background. In bottom center is a circular illustration of 4 rabbits, each representing the seasons with flowers and foliage found during that time. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo calendar, 2023. Year of the Rabbit.
2024 illustrated calendar cover with red background. A dragon head is featured in the center of the page. The dragon has white, gold and red hair with green spikes and twirly green whiskers on the nose. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo calendar, 2024. Year of the Dragon.
2025 illustrated calendar cover with gold background. In top center is a circular illustration of two entwined snakes, each decorated with flowers and foliage. Large red font reads Happy New Year. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo calendar, 2025. Year of the Snake.
2026 illustrated calendar cover with yellow background. Happy New Year in large red font is centered on the page. An image of a white horse is visible inside the Zero of 2026. Image link will enlarge image.
Wells Fargo calendar, 2026. Year of the Horse.

Eunice Liu

Eunice Liu is a Corporate Archivist for Wells Fargo.

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