The traditional
Chinese calendar
The traditional Chinese calendar, dating back to the Han dynasty, is a lunisolar calendar that blends solar, lunar, and other cycles for social and agricultural purposes. While modern China primarily uses the Gregorian calendar for officia ...
divides a year into 24
solar term
A solar term (or ''jiéqì'', zh, t=節氣, s=节气) is any of twenty-four periods in traditional Chinese lunisolar calendars that matches a particular astronomical event or signifies some natural phenomenon. The points are spaced 15° apart ...
s. ''Lìdōng'', ''Rittō'', ''Ipdong'', or ''Lập đông'' () is the 19th solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the
celestial longitude
In astronomy, coordinate systems are used for specifying positions of celestial objects (satellites, planets, stars, galaxies, etc.) relative to a given reference frame, based on physical reference points available to a situated observer (e.g. ...
of 225° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 240°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 225°. In the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...
, it usually begins around November 7 and ends around November 22.
Lidong signifies the beginning of winter in East Asian cultures.
Pentads
*水始冰, 'Water begins to freeze' – the initial stages of water bodies freezing over.
*地始凍, 'The earth begins to harden'
*雉入大水為蜃, 'Pheasants enter the water for clams'
Date and time
See also
*
Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...
References
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19
Winter time