The traditional

Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar, dating back to the Han dynasty, is a lunisolar calendar that blends solar, lunar, and other cycles for social and agricultural purposes. While modern China primarily uses the Gregorian calendar for officia ...

divides a year into 24

solar term A solar term (or ''jiéqì'', zh, t=節氣, s=节气) is any of twenty-four periods in traditional Chinese lunisolar calendars that matches a particular astronomical event or signifies some natural phenomenon. The points are spaced 15° apart ...

s. The first one is known as in Chinese, in Japanese, in Korean, and in Vietnamese. It begins when the Sun reaches the

celestial longitude In astronomy, coordinate systems are used for specifying positions of celestial objects (satellites, planets, stars, galaxies, etc.) relative to a given reference frame, based on physical reference points available to a situated observer (e.g. ...

of 315° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 330°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 315°. In the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

, it usually begins around February 4 and ends around February 18 (February 19 East Asia time). It is also the beginning of a

sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the gānzhī (干支) or stems-and-branches, is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus amounting to a total of sixty years every cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...

. Lichun signifies the beginning of spring in East Asian cultures.

Pentads

Each solar term can be divided into 3 pentads (候). They are: first pentad (初候), second pentad (次候) and last pentad (末候). Pentads in Lichun include: ; China * First pentad: Dōng Fēng Jiě Dòng () *: '' Yuè Lìng Qī Shí Èr Hòu Jí Jiě'' (月令七十二候集解) explains the name of this pentad:

It is not called the 'winter ice meets the spring wind and melts in the spring wind' thaw, but the 'east wind' thaw, because '' Lü Shi Chun Qiu'' said that the east is associated with wood, and wood generates fire, so the air is warm and causes ice to thaw. (凍結于冬遇春風而解散不曰春而曰東者呂氏春秋曰東方屬木木火母也然氣溫故解凍)

* Second pentad () * Last pentad () ; Japan * First pentad: 東風解凍 * Second pentad: 黄鶯睍睆 * Last pentad: 魚上氷

Date and time

Customs

China

Lichun traditionally signifies the beginning of spring.

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...

is celebrated around this time. Farmers often celebrate the beginning of Lichun with special village events, worship and offerings to the Taoist and Buddhist gods and ceremonies for a blissful and prosperous new year. People eat '' chūnbǐng'' (春餅) on this day, especially in northern China. According to some schools of

Feng Shui Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...

, if you are born after Chinese New Years but before or even on the first day of Lichun you are considered the zodiac animal of the previous Chinese lunar year. In the lunisolar calendar, New Year's Day might be before or after Lichun. A year without Lichun is called 無春年 (''no spring year''). 無春年 is also known as 寡婦年 (''widow year'') in northern China or 盲年 (''blind year'') in southern China. Marriage is believed to be unlucky in a year without Lichun. In the Republic of China, Lichun has been Farmer's Day since 1941. In Singapore, there is a practice of depositing money into bank accounts on Lichun which many believe will bring them good fortune.

Korea

Ipchun is the first season of the new year, so there are many farming-related events. In Ipchun, families, regardless of the city or countryside, put their writings on walls or thresholds as a blessing event. These writings are also called Ipchunchuk, Chunchuk, Ipchunseo, Ipchunbang, and Chunbang. Those who know the letters write themselves, and those who do not know how to write, ask others to write them. It is said that it is good to attach it at the time of Ipchun, but it is not written in the house where the funeral is held.

About

Lichun is mentioned in literature, including in

Du Fu Du Fu (; 712–770) was a Chinese poet and politician during the Tang dynasty. Together with his elder contemporary and friend Li Bai, Du is often considered one of the greatest Chinese poets of his time. His greatest ambition was to serve ...

's (杜甫) '' shi'' (詩), simply titled ''Lìchūn'' (立春): This poem tells us about the traditional custom of eating ''chūnbǐng'' (春餅) on this day.

Pentads

Date and time

Customs

China

Korea

About

See also

References

Further reading