Dividing the Year - Equinoxes, Seasons, Calendars

  Lijiang, China
Saturday, March 17, 2007

  There is something special about living in the country, or in fact anywhere where you can see greater forces at work. I am talking about nature, the environment, landscape - it could be distant hills on the horizon playing host to the daily slow dance of the sun's light, fields which seem inert but when you look more closely are subtly changing with the seasons, or a lone tree appearing to act out the cycle of life and death in just one year.


One of the things I like about living here in north-west Yunnan is the way the seasons change during the year. Two things seem to be going on. First, the seasons seem more pronounced. This is particularly the case around Zhongdian or Shangri-la, where from week to week there are noticeable changes in what is happening on the plains at 3300m above sea level.


The second thing there seems to be a greater connection with the seasons and the passing of the year. What's more, there are a number of rituals around certain times of the year.


Coming from New Zealand, where we have inherited and are slowly making local adaptations for imported Northern Hemisphere festivals and holidays - like Easter in Autumn, Christmas in Summer - its kinda nice to have some celebrations linked to what is going on in the place where we live.

The Seasons

The Chinese connection to lace and season is further outlined through observations which have led to the development of the Chinese calendar. The year is divided into 24 solar terms, so for every two weeks or so is regarded as a term, each with its name.

The Four Seasons

So far we have had these terms this year 2007:
Minor cold [where cold becomes unbearable] was from 6-20 January; Major cold [the coldest time of the year] from 20 January- 3 February; then Spring started on 4 February, with Spring Festival starting on 18 Febraury. The next term is called Rain water, when the rising temperature means it will more likely rain than snow. On 4 March this year, the end of the Spring Festival, people celebrated Lantern Festival, and on 6 March the next term started, called the Awakening of insects, when hibernating creatures wake up.


The next big event in the Chinese and cosmic calender is the Spring Equinox [equinox = equal night] on 21 March - the vernal equinox is the central divide of spring, when day and night are the same length. Interestingly, the Spring Equinox occurs in the middle, not the start of Spring for the Chinese, though for most people in the Northern Hemisphere this event in the year is usually carries the promise of warmer weather. Or those in the Southern Hemisphere, this time of year is the autumnal equinox, when the nights start getting longer than the days. It's not til 22 September than the days start to become longer than the nights.


I guess long, long ago people took more notice of the movement of the sun, and would have observed the different points on the horizon where it rose and sunk, as well as the length of days. I know I've been noticing where the sun rises and where its light falls. I also have a survival interest in when it goes down and the period between when it goes behind the mountains and when I have to get back home, or at least near some street lights. In the mornings I like to sit outside on my stone ledge, drink a cup of coffee, and warm up. When I first arrived here in late January it wasn't til after 10.30 am that sunlight reached my siting place. Now it arrives earlier. The way my house id designed, with its overhanging eaves, it means the stone warms up during the day, but you can still sit on the ledge with your bottom half in the warmth and your upper body and face protected from the sun's strong rays.






Anyway, after the Spring Equinox, we have a term called Pure Brightness, from 5 April, when families tend the graves of their ancestors. Arbor Day is on 1 April. Then it is the birthday of Kuan Yin, the goddess of Mercy on 6 April, and Easter Sunday on 8 April. Grain Rain, when rains fall to help grain to grow, starts on 20 April. Another national holiday, Labour Day, is on 1 May, signaling the start of the first of this year's two Golden Weeks - the other is 1 October. It is Youth Day here in China on 5 May, And then Summer starts 7 May. The term called Grain Full when grains become plump starts 21 May; three days later is the birthday of Buddha.


Children's Day is on 1 June; then Grain in Ear term starts 6 June, when beards of grain grow. Summer solstice is on 22 June this year, followed by Minor Heat on 7 July, Major Heat starts 23 July, and Autumn begins on 8 August, followed by Limit of Heat on 23 August. The Ghost Festival happens on 26 August - the 14th day of the 7th lunar month. Then it is White Dew, a sign of autumn, from 8 September. Teachers are celebrated on 10 September, then on 23 September is the Autumn Equinox, followed by the mid-Autumn or Moon festival on the 15th day of the 8th month - 25 September.
During the second Golden Week starting with China's National Day on 1 October we have Cold Dew starting 9 October, the Double Ninth Festival on 19 October; then Descent of Frost with the drop in temperatures on 24 October.


Winter starts on 8 November, and Minor Snow on 23 November followed by Major Snow on 7 December. Winter Solstace this year is on 22 December. Then it is back to Slight Cold and Great Cold in 2008.


Then we start over again, for another year.