With the arrival of the 2024 lunar year of the dragon, a topic that many people are concerned about is why from next year, the Chinese New Year's Eve for five consecutive years is on the 29th of the new year, instead of the 30th of the Chinese New Year's Eve?
It is understood that the lunar calendar is a calendar that calculates the number of days in a month based on the changes in the phases of the moon, which is known as the "synodic month cycle" in astronomy. The average length of a synodic month is 29.53 days, which is not a whole number, so sometimes it is a minor month of 29 days, and sometimes a major month of 30 days. In order to ensure that the first day of the lunar month must be a new moon, that is, the time when people cannot see the moon at all, the arrangement of the large and small months is not fixed, but needs to be determined through observation and scientific calculation.
Because the relative motion between the moon, the earth, and the sun is not static, the "synodic month cycle" is long and short, and sometimes there is a situation where the wax moon is a small moon, that is, the wax moon is only 29 days, and there is no Chinese New Year's Eve. This is not uncommon, occurring every three to five years, and sometimes even several years in a row. The next Spring Festival without the Chinese New Year's Eve is 2025, and it will be the same for five consecutive years from 2025 to 2029.
This phenomenon has also occurred many times in history, such as from 104 BC to 100 BC and from 44 BC to 40 BC.
In addition, there is an even more amazing thing, and that is the leap month of 2262. Due to the characteristics of the lunar calendar, there are sometimes 13 months in a year, which is a leap month. The arrangement of leap months is also not fixed, but is determined based on the relative positions of the Sun and Moon. Generally speaking, leap months are after a certain month, such as leap April, leap August, etc., but in rare cases, there will also be a leap month, that is, a new month after the first month. This is very rare, and has only occurred three times since the first year of AD, in 383 AD, 1324 AD and 1693 AD. The next leap month will have to wait until 2262, which means that there will be two Spring Festivals in that year.
The lunar calendar is an important part of traditional Chinese culture, which not only reflects the Chinese's observation and understanding of astronomical phenomena, but also contains the Chinese's perception and application of time and solar terms. By understanding the mysteries of the lunar calendar, we can better understand and inherit the excellent cultural heritage of the Chinese nation.
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#There will be no Chinese New Year's Eve for 5 consecutive years from next year#