Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2021 Calendar

One of the most exciting thing for many players of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting to play out the events and seasons of a year in real time. Like New Leaf before it, Animal Crossing: New Horizons celebrates in-game holidays, competitions, shows, and other events in correspondence to when some of these occur in real life. Of course, some players choose to time travel to speed up decorating, terraforming, and Bell-earning, but that's not everyone's playstyle.

It hasn't been a year since Animal Crossing: New Horizons released, which means that January and February events are still something that haven't come out. Many players are anticipating a Valentine's Day event during when it occurs in February in some parts of the real world, as well as a New Year's countdown right before 2021 starts. Here is what players can expect to see from 2021 in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, not including surprise updates later on down the line.

January and February

The year starts out snowy in some parts of the world, and begins with New Year's Day that many players remember from New Leaf. In ACNL, Isabelle gives the players items depending on what part of the world they live in, like Sparkling Cider for North Americans. Since the Southern Hemisphere is undergoing its summer at this time, Bug Offs happen now, while players from the Northern Hemisphere will have to wait until late June for their first bug-catching contest of 2021. The Lunar New Year doesn't always happen in February, and at the beginning of 2020, it happened on January 2020. In 2021, players will have to wait until February to get a gift from their in-game Mom.

Festive Season (Both hemispheres) - December 15-January 6
New Year's Day (Both hemispheres) - January 1
Fishing Tourney (Both hemispheres) - January 9
Bug Off (Southern Hemisphere) - January 16
Lunar New Year (Both hemispheres) - February 12
Bug Off (Southern Hemisphere) - February 20

April and May

Bunny Day was New Horizons' first seasonal event to happen after the game released in March of 2020, and unlike previous games in the series, ACNH's Easter equivalent lasts multiple days. Easter happens earlier in the real world in 2021, so the Bunny Day events may be shorter next year. Cherry Leaf Season and Maple Leaf Season both happen in April, albeit for people in different hemispheres. April and May are very nature-centered months, with events like Mushrooming Season and Nature Day, which is fitting for springtime or autumn, depending on what part of the world one lives in.

Bunny Day (Both hemispheres) - April 1-4
Cherry Blossom Season (Northern Hemisphere) - April 1-10
Fishing Tourney (Both hemispheres) - April 10
Maple Leaf Season (Southern Hemisphere) - April 16-26
Nature Day (Both hemispheres) - April 23-May 4
May Day (Both hemispheres) - May 1-7
Mushrooming Season (Southern Hemisphere) - May 1-31
International Museum Day (Both hemispheres) - May 18-31

June - September

ACNH's Wedding Season came to Animal Crossing games for the first time with New Horizons, and centers around setting up wedding photoshoots for in-game alpaca couple Reese and Cyrus. The summer months (in the Northern Hemisphere) have plenty of Bug Offs and Fishing Tourneys for players to test their mettle in swinging their nets and reeling in their lines. August weekend nights are also a fun treat for players who like to see fireworks, as every Sunday from 7 PM to midnight has a Fireworks Show.

Wedding Season (Both hemispheres) - June 1-30
Bug Off (Northern Hemisphere) - June 26
Fishing Tourney (Both hemispheres) - July 10
Bug Off (Northern Hemisphere) - July 24
Fireworks Show (Both hemispheres) - Every Sunday in August
Bug Off (Northern Hemisphere) - August 28
Bug Off (Northern Hemisphere) - September 25

October - December

Late fall and early winter have a number of events that honor real-world holidays, like Turkey Day being inspired by American Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Toy Day drawing inspiration from Christmas Day. And, of course, players will be able to end the year with a New Year's countdown just like they did in previous games and years. Toy Day in New Horizons was blocked off from time-travelling when it was introduced in 2020, and featured a Santa Claus-like reindeer named Jingle. Festive Day is an event that leads up to and away from Toy Day, extending into January of 2022, and lets decorated cedar trees have a chance to drop colorful ornaments.