Spring (Feb 4th - May 5th) Cardinal Pt: East |
LiChun (Feb 4th) - Start of Spring Spring Festival/Chun Jie (1st day of the 1st lunar month falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice) - Observed in China (), Tibet (Losar), Korea (Sol), Vietnam (Tet), and other parts of Asia. Fifteen day long observance culminating in Lantern Festival. It is a time to be with family, reaffirm family ties, pay visits with friends, and set the tone for the coming year. The Kitchen God returns (4th day of 1st lunar month) - Lantern Festival/Yuanxiao Jie (15th day - full moon - of the 1st lunar month) - the culmination of Chinese new year's observances. ChunFen (March 20) - Vernal Equinox. Day of DongWangGong/East King Father. Beginning the ascendency of Yang. LaoTse's Birthday (15th day - full moon - of the 2nd lunar month) - Born around 570 BCE, founder of Taoism, author of the Tao te Ching. QingMing/Grave Sweeping Day (April 5th) - Ancestral Graves are tended. Offerings made. |
Summer (May 6th - Aug 6th) Cardlinal Pt: South |
LiXia (May 6th) - Start of Summer XiaZhi (June 21st) - Summer Solstice. The peak of Yang. Corresponds to South. Offerings made. Dragon Boat Festival/Duan wu Jie (5th day of the 5th lunar month) - Chinese festival to commemorate the unsuccessful attempt to rescue the patriotic poet Qu Yuan from the river. The celebration's is a time for protection from evil and disease for the rest of the year. |
Late Summer Cardinal Pt: Center |
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Autumn (Aug 7th - Nov 6th) Cardinal Pt: West |
LiQiu (Aug 7th) - Start of Autumn Ghost Festival/Yu Lan (15th day - full moon - of the 7th lunar month) - Festival to honor the dead. Involves lighting of bonfires, traditional meal, paper lanterns, folk dances. (See Ullambana under Buddhist Holidays. Also known as Bon in Japan.) Mid-Autumn Moon Festival/Zhong Qiu Jie (15th day - full moon - of the 8th lunar month) - Chinese harvest festival. It also commemorates a strategic Chinese victory over Mongolia (Ming) dynasty. The story of the Moon Maiden, Chang-O, is also celebrated. QiuFen (Sept 23rd) - Autumn Equinox. Day of XiWangMu/West Queen Mother. Beginning the ascendency of Yin. Confucius/KungFuTse's Birthday (Sept 28th) - Born around 551 BCE, founder of Confucianism, author of The Analects. Double Ninth Festival/Cheung Yung (9th day of 9th lunar month) |
Winter (Nov 7th - Feb 3rd) Cardinal Pt: North |
LiDong (Nov 7th) - Start of Winter DongZhi (Dec 22) - Winter Solstice. The peak of Yin. Corresponds to North. Offerings made. Kitchen God departs (23rd day of 12th lunar month) |
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