Chinese calendar

The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar formed by combining a purely lunar calendar with a solar calendar. In modern times Chinese usually use the Gregorian Calendar for most day to day activities, but the Chinese calendar is still used for the dating of traditional holidays such as Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) and the Mid-Autumn Festival and in astrology, including choosing the most auspicious date for a wedding or the grand opening of a building. The primary use in day to day activities is for determining the phase of the moon, which is important for farmers and is possible because each day in the calendar corresponds to a particular phase of the month. Other traditional east Asian calendars are similar to if not identical to the Chinese calendar: the Korean calendar is identical, the Vietnamese calendar substitutes the cat for the rabbit in the twelve animals,

Korean calendar

The traditional Korean calendar is directly derived from the Chinese calendar. In the early nineteenth century Korea relied on close diplomatic relations with China while shutting off relations with all other countries. In recognition of this relationship, the ruler of Korea would make a point of accepting the new Chinese calendar from the Emperor of China each year with great pageantry. The calendar had:

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• The Chinese zodiac of 12 Earthly Branches (animals), which were used for counting hours and years;
• Ten Heavenly Stems, which were combined with the 12 Earthly Branches to form a sixty-year cycle;
• Twenty-four turning points (jeolgi 節氣 절기) in the year, spaced roughly 15 days apart;
• Lunar Months.

The Korean calendar traditionally counts years from 2333 BCE, the date of the legendary founding of Korea by Dangun.

Related Topics:
2333 BCE - Dangun

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The lunar calendar is rarely used now in modern Korea except for the observation of traditional holidays (cf. Korean Lunar Festivals) and the marking of birthdays by older Koreans.

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