Chung Yeung Festival

Introduction to Chung Yeung Festival (重阳节).

Lunar September 9, is double ninth festival. Chinese word of chung 重, is repeat, today is the 9 and 9, is a repeat 9th day. In the book of change (i-ching) teaching, 6 is Yin and 9 is Yang, therefore in the ancients custom long ago, this is a 'Big' day because of the significant double 9th day.The ancients considered this day to be an auspicious day worth celebrating. The celebrations starts very early before the holidays.

Celebration for the Chung Yeung Festival is very colorful and romantic. It includes trips to enjoy the scenery and going to high ground to observe chrysanthemum flowers.It also involves the eating of Doublt Ninth Cakes together with drinking chrysanthemum tea.

Lunar 5th Month 5th Day is Rice Dumpling Festival

Fifth lunar month, is China's traditional Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, weighing five, the Dragon Boat Festival.As early as the Zhou dynasty, there is, "May 5, with the Mu-lan" customs. But today, the Dragon Boat Festival with many activities to commemorate Qu Yuan of China on the great writer.

This day in chinese is known as "端午节". I would like to take this opportunity to wish all a "Happy Rice Dumpling Festival"

Little Fullness 小 满

Come May 21, it will be the sub-season of Little Fullness, 小 满. This post is to explain what is this sub-season is all about.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms (節氣). Xiǎomǎn (pīnyīn) or Shōman (rōmaji) (Traditional Chinese: 小滿; Simplified Chinese: 小满; Japanese: 小満; Korean: 소만; Vietnamese: Tiểu mãn; literally: "grain full") is the 8th solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 60° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 75°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 60°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around May 21 and ends around June 5 (June 6 East Asia time).

二十四节气大多可以顾名思义，但是小满却有些令人费解。 Most of 24 weather can be just as its name implies, but the Little Fullness is somewhat puzzling. 原来，小满是指麦类等夏熟作物灌浆乳熟，籽粒开始饱满。 In fact, Little Fullness means, such as wheat milky filling summer crops, grain began full. 南方地区的农谚赋予小满以新的寓意："小满不满，干断思坎"；"小满不满，芒种不管"。 Southern region Little Fullness农谚given a new meaning: "Little Fullness dissatisfaction Sircam dry off"; "Little Fullness dissatisfaction regardless of Grain in Ear." 把"满"用来形容雨水的盈缺，指出小满时田里如果蓄不满水，就可能造成田坎干裂，甚至芒种时也无法栽插水稻。 The "full"盈缺used to describe the rain that the fields at Little Fullness if dissatisfied with the water, it may cause cracks田坎, Grain in Ear and even when they can not be planting rice. 因为"立夏小满正栽秧"，"秧奔小满谷奔秋"，小满正是适宜水稻栽插的季节。 Because "Little Fullness is栽秧beginning of summer", "Ben Yeung Ben autumn small Mungo," Little Fullness was suitable for rice planting season. 华南的夏旱严重与否，和水稻栽插面积的多少，有直接的关系；而栽插的迟早，又与水稻单产的高低密切相关。 Severe summer drought in southern China or not, and the number of rice planting area, have a direct relationship; and planting of sooner or later, with the yield of rice is closely related to the high and low. 华南中部和西部，常有冬干春旱，大雨来临又较迟，有些年份要到6月大雨才姗姗而来，最晚甚至可迟至7月。 The central and western South China, often in winter dry spring, and late arrival of heavy rain in some years heavy rain in June to come only slowly, even as late as last July. 加之常年小满节气雨量不多，平均仅40毫米左右，自然降雨量不能满足栽秧需水量，使得水源缺乏的华南中部夏旱更为严重。 Little Fullness annual cycle of rainfall coupled with small, average only about 40 mm, natural rainfall can not meet the water demand栽秧, making water shortage more severe summer drought in central southern China. 俗话说："蓄水如蓄粮"，"保水如保粮"。 As the saying goes: "water, such as with food," "water, such as food security." 为了抗御干旱，除了改进耕作栽培措施和加快植树造林外，特别需要注意抓好头年的蓄水保水工作。 In order to resist drought, in addition to measures to improve the farming culture and to accelerate afforestation, special efforts need to pay attention to the first-year water storage work. 但是，也要注意可能出现的连续阴雨天气，对小春作物收晒的影响。 However, we should also pay attention for possible rain, the sun on Koharu the impact of crop land. 西北高原山地区，这时多已进入雨季，作物生长旺盛，欣欣向荣。 Northwest Plateau

Hope you enjoy it, Cheers!

Vernal Equinox 2009 春分

The March Equinox

Vernal Equinox will occur on March 20 in 2009, marking the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere and fall (autumn) in the southern hemisphere from an astronomical viewpoint. The March equinox will occur at 11:44 (am) at Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on this date.

Picture by Date&Time dot com.

Twice a year, around March 20 or 21 and September 22 or 23, the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night are nearly equal in all parts of the world. These two days are known as the March(vernal or spring in the northern hemisphere) equinox and the September equinox.

What does equinox mean?
The word “equinox” derives from the Latin words meaning “equal night” and refers to the time when the sun crosses the equator. At such times, day and night are everywhere of nearly equal length everywhere in the world.

It is important to note that while the March equinox marks the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere, it is the start of autumn in many parts of the southern hemisphere.

March Equinox Explained
The March equinox is the movement when the sun crosses the true celestial equator – or the line in the sky above the earth’s equator – from south to north, around March 20 (or March 21) of each year. At that time, day and night are balanced to nearly 12 hours each all over the world and the earth’s axis of rotation is perpendicular to the line connecting the centers of the earth and the sun.

In gyroscopic motion, the earth’s rotational axis migrates in a slow circle based as a consequence of the moon’s pull on a nonspherical earth. This nearly uniform motion causes the position of the equinoxes to move backwards along the ecliptic in a period of about 25,725 years.

Insects Awaken

5th March 09 at 1902 the chinese will welcome the new month of Mid Spring, it is known as 'Insects Awaken'. The new lunar month is also know as the rabbit month of Mao Yin Wood Earthly Branch with the Heavenly Stem of Yin Fire Ding.

What is 'Insects Awaken'?
The spring arrived, the spring thunder initially makes a sound, and all seeds started to growth. Those insect and animal hide in the soil which is dormant in the pit hole is awakened by the spring thunder, also start to regain consciousness to greet the spring oncoming.

At this time,the farmers are busy transplant rice seedlings. However, if the phenomenon of thunder came before this solar terms, there will possibly be present of rain water and continuous unusual weather, moreover easy to cause disaster.

YuanXiaoJie 元宵节

Fifteenth day of the new year

The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as Yuánxiāo jié (元宵节), otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei in Fujian dialect. Rice dumplings Tangyuan (simplified Chinese: 汤圆; traditional Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tāngyuán), a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, is eaten this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the Lantern Festival, and families walk the street carrying lighted
lanterns.

This day often marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities.

The first lunar month on the 15th, is China's traditional Lantern Festival. The first month for January, the ancients said that night as "night" and on the 15th is also the year the first full moon night, it said fifteenth dayis for the Lantern Festival. Also known as the "Spring Festival". According to Chinese folk traditions, in one Yuanfu before, the earth rejuvenate the festive night, the sky bright and shrinkage in the floor lantern 10,000 people, guess riddles and eating Lantern family reunion dinner.

Lantern Festival originated in the Han Dynasty. China's civil society have the Lantern Festival Lantern eating customs.

24 Seasons The First Season - Li Chun 立春

In a year there are 24 seasons. Today 4th Feb 09, Li Chun 立春, is the first season of the 24 seasons. It also known as the beginning of Spring.

In the ancient time,Li Chun or the Spring Begin, is an important day and the peoples will have lot of celebrations on this day.

The 24 seasons are determined based on the change of the weather seasons.In the very early day, the are only 8 important seasons, they are,spring begin 立春、summer begin 立夏、autumn begin 立秋、winter begin 立冬、Spring Equinox 春分、Summer Solstice 夏至、Autumn Equinox 秋分、Winter Solstice 冬至.

The below picture is compliment of showchina dot org website:

There is this tradition of welcoming the beginning of spring.Three day before the li chun, people will start to take vegetarian foods. On the day of spring, they will gather at a specific place to welcome the spring and pray for good harvest. When they return from the prayer, the emperor will rewards the villagers. This tradition was practice for a long period of time.

Li Chun tradition was very well celebrated. In many places, there are painting to signify Li Chun, this is also known as 'Spring Ox Picture'and the village will use whip to whip the ox that is made of mud.This is to create awareness of the arrival of spring and don't forget to start farming. Li Chun day, the villages will eat 'spring biscuit or spring roll' to signify welcoming of spring. This tradition dated as far back to Tung Dynasty. Beside the Han people, there are still a large group of people in china still practice this tradition.