Living in Taiwan,
as a foreigner, means that I have to pay attention to the Lunar Calendar. I’m a pastor and I have to be careful of
church events planned throughout the year, because if they fall on one of
Taiwan’s major holidays, I will be the only one attending the event. As a result I have become interested in the
Lunar Calendar.
The very first
renderings of a lunar calendar go all the way back to the Shang Dynasty. This is the 2nd Chinese Dynasty,
which existed in 1600 BC until 1046 BC.
But the calendar has gone through a number of revisions since that
time. As science progressed and the
true and actual cycles of the moon and the earth were understood the calendar
was changed t reflect this information.
These revisions are tedious and boring, so I will not include all of
that stuff in this post but I will tell you that the current lunar calendar has
been in use since 104 BC.
There are a number
of rules that govern the calendar:
- Each Month begins at midnight on the
day of the new Moon.
- There are 12 regular months.
- The sun must pass through winter
solstice in month 11
In order to make
that happen, there must be an intercalary month inserted into the
calendar. An intercalary month is like
a leap month. It month can take place
after any month and is the same number of days as the month it follows. Because
of the use of intercalary months of the Lunar calendar the corresponding days
of the holidays in the Solar Calendar Change each year. For example in 2014, Chinese new Year took
place on January 31, in 2015 it will be on February 19.
Most of Taiwan’s
traditional holidays are marked through the use of the Lunar Calendar. modern Holidays are marked through the Solar
Calendar. Let’s take a look at the Taiwanese
Holidays:
Lunar New Year: 春節Lunar
date is January 1. (February 19, 2015) This is the most important holiday of the
year. It is celebrated much the same
way that Christmas is celebrated in the west.
Families gather for 3-15 days.
Traditional meals are served on Lunar New Year’s Eve. People are given gifts of Hong Bao 紅包 these are gifts of money that are a wish of
prosperity for the recipient.
The LanternFestival: 元宵節 Lunar date is January 15. (March 5, 2015) This is the first day a full
moon can be seen in the New Year.
People celebrate by lighting and launching sky lanterns. There are also huge venues where people go
to see artistically made lanterns and watch them launched. People often write prayers and wishes on the
side of the lanterns before they are released. The traditional food for the Lantern festival is the Tang yuan 湯圓 (soup circle). These are balls of gooey, sweet rice gluten.
Qingming Festival: 清明節 Solar Holiday: April 5, 2015. During the Qingming Festival families gather
to sweep the tombs of departed ancestors.
It is a day to honor the dead.
Many people use this day to burn incense and worship their ancestors.
Dragon BoatFestival: 端午節 Lunar date is May
5. (June 20, 2015) his festival honors Chinese Poet Qu
Yuan. It is celebrated with the racing
of the dragon boats. People eat a
special sticky rice pyramid called a zongzi.
Night of Sevens: 七夕 Lunar
date is July 7. (August 20, 2015) This holiday celebrates the legendary love
of Niulang and Zhinu. According to legend they are forever
separated, but are allowed to unite on July 7.
The Taiwanese view this as a romantic night celebrated much like
Valentine’s Day in the west.
Ghost Festival: 中元節 Lunar date is July 15. (August 28, 2015) The festival honors the departed
ancestors. People commemorate this day
by placing offerings of incense, food and beverages outside their homes and the
burning of spirit money for the family members who have departed the
world. This is the most important date
of Ghost Month (The whole month of July on the lunar calendar.)
Mid-Autumn Moon
Festival: 中秋節 Lunar date is August 15. (September 27, 2015) This is the day when most people get
together with friends and family and barbeque.
Look for an in-depth post on the Moon Festival in September. A gift is given to friends and family of
moon cakes. Circular cakes made with
egg yolks and other things inside. The
shape represents the moon and the cakes themselves are good wishes for the
recipient.
Double Ninth
Festival: 重陽節 Lunar Date is September 9. (October 21, 2015) People usually celebrate this holiday by climbing mountains or
visiting flower shows.
Xia Yuan
Festival: 下元節 Lunar date is October 15. (November 26, 2015) During this festival people pray to the
water god for a peaceful year.
Winter
Solstice: 冬至 Solar Holiday (December 22, 2015).
This corresponds to the Winter Solstice in Western Countries. Families gather to celebrate on this day.
(You can follow the links for more information on selected holidays.)
One final note is
that the Chinese Zodiac is broken down into 12 years. Each year corresponds to a particular animal. It is believed that people born in a particular
year will share the traits of the animal mentioned. The following is a breakdown of the Zodiac and the corresponding
years from 1924 through 2031. See if
you can find yours.
Rat 1924 1936
1948 1960 1972
1984 1996 2008 2020
Ox 1925 1937
1949 1961 1973
1985 1997 2009 2021
Tiger 1926 1938
1950 1962 1974
1986 1998 2010 2022
Rabbit 1927 1939
1951 1963 1975
1987 1999 2011 2023
Dragon 1928 1940
1952 1964 1976
1988 2000 2012 2024
Snake 1929 1941
1953 1965 1977
1989 2001 2013 2025
Horse 1930 1942
1954 1966 1978
1990 2002 2014 2026
Sheep 1931 1943
1955 1967 1979
1991 2003 2015 2027
Monkey 1932 1944
1956 1968 1980
1992 2004 2016 2028
Rooster 1933 1945
1957 1969 1981
1993 2005 2017 2029
Dog 1934 1946
1958 1970 1982
1994 2006 2018 2030
Boar 1935 1947
1959 1971 1983
1995 2007 2019
2031Other posts you may be interested in:
Taiwanese Traditions: The Beliefs of Confucianism
Taiwanese Traditions: The Planting and Growing of Rice
Taiwanese Traditions: Selling and Brewing Tea
Photo Credit: http://www.spreadshirt.com/goat+sheep+t-shirts (Ed. Note: This photo can be purchased as a t-shirt at spreadshirt.com.)
