When is the beginning of spring in 2023?

February 4th

The Gregorian calendar and the lunar calendar each have different historical origins and calendar regulations

The Gregorian calendar has a leap year every four years. Under normal circumstances, any year in the Gregorian calendar that can be divided by 4 is a leap year, and February has 29 days; years that cannot be divided are ordinary years, and February has 28 days. The year 2023 cannot be divided by 4, so it is an ordinary year with 365 days.

The lunar calendar is based on the cycle of the moon. A synodic month is one month, about 29.53 days. The whole year is generally 354 days or 355 days, which is shorter than the Gregorian calendar year (also known as the tropical year and the solar year). ) is 11 days short of 365 or 366 days.

In order to make the length of the lunar year close to that of the Gregorian calendar year, the ancients used the method of adding leap months, that is, adding 7 leap months to the 19 lunar years; the year with leap months has 13 months, There are generally 384 or 385 days in a year, which is called a leap year. In this way, the 19 lunar years and the 19 Gregorian calendar years are almost equal in length.

As for the specific month in which the leap month is placed, this is related to the "middle energy" of the 24 solar terms. The twenty-four solar terms are composed of 12 solar terms and 12 middle qi. The first of the month is called "solar term" and the middle of the month is called "zhong qi". The two are arranged alternately. The rule for adding leap months is that in each month, any month that contains middle energy is considered a normal month, and any month that does not contain middle energy is counted as a leap month in the previous month. The "leap month" in the year of the Rabbit in the lunar calendar does not have a zhongqi, so it is the leap month in February of the previous month.

In nature, the most striking feature of the beginning of spring is that all things begin to show signs of recovery. The beginning of spring is the beginning of all things and the rebirth of all things, which means that a new reincarnation has begun. The beginning of spring is the beginning of spring, and the time sequence enters spring. Although spring is still cold at this time, the cold winter is over, spring has returned to the earth, all things have revived, and nature is full of vitality. Therefore, the ancients attached great importance to the beginning of spring, and there were rituals to welcome spring in ancient times.

Customs at the beginning of spring

Rolling spring

The so-called "rolling spring" means eating spring pancakes. People roll baked pancakes with bean sprouts, green onions and other fresh vegetables and Eating the sauce together symbolizes that people should take in the fresh breath and power of spring, so that they can be more energetic when sowing and working in spring.

The earliest records show that spring cakes were eaten by biting spring cakes. Folks eat some fresh spring vegetables on the day of the Beginning of Spring, not only to prevent diseases, but also to welcome the New Year. The "Four Seasons Treasure Mirror" of the Tang Dynasty records: "At the beginning of spring, people eat reeds, spring pancakes, and lettuce, called 'vegetable plates.'" It can be seen that people in the Tang Dynasty had already begun to try spring dishes and eat spring pancakes.

Spring pancake, also called lotus leaf pancake, is actually a kind of hot noodle pancake - use two small pieces of water surface and grease the middle with oil to form a pancake. After it is cooked, it can be peeled into two pieces and used to roll Eat vegetables.

Newly married girls in Yuncheng area are taken back by their natal families, which is called "Welcome to Spring". In Linfen area, it is customary to treat the son-in-law to eat spring cakes. There is a folk proverb in southern Hebei that "eat melons in spring and live to be eighty-eight." Melons refer to pumpkins. Local residents have the habit of eating pumpkin stuffed dumplings or pumpkin stuffed buns on this day.

gnawing spring

"gnawing spring" means chewing radish, which means people cheer themselves up. Radishes are crisp and slightly spicy. Eating radishes can smooth the flow of energy, prevent diseases, and make people feel better and more energetic in spring.

Because radish has a spicy taste, it takes the ancient meaning of "biting off the roots of the grass, then everything can be done". In old Beijing, from early in the morning on this day, there would be people carrying burdens in the alleys shouting: "Rarot versus pear?" At that time, no matter how poor the family was, they had to buy a radish for their children to bite into. The word "gnawing" refers to the mood, but also to the tenacity buried deep in the heart to endure hardships. It is a unique custom of the Chinese people.

whip spring

"whip spring" is commonly known as "beating spring ox", which symbolizes that people spur themselves to be more motivated. "Spring Cow Beating" means that in the past, people would break a willow stick and whip the cow's back on the first day of spring to make the cow work harder during spring plowing. Later, many families would use wicker sticks to gently beat their children, hoping that the children would be more motivated and strive for excellence in the new year. Nowadays, spring whipping activities are no longer held in cities, but some rural areas still have the custom of whipping cattle.

Before the beginning of spring, a cow is made of clay, which is called a spring cow. Women carry their children and circle the spring cow three times. It used to be said that they would avoid diseases, but now it has become entertainment.

On the first day of spring, the village elects an old man to symbolically beat the spring cow three times with a whip, which means the beginning of the year's farming. Then the villagers beat the mud cows to pieces, divided the soil, and spread it on their own farmland. In the Luliang area, it is popular to use spring cow soil to write the word "Yichun" on the door. In the southeastern Shanxi region, it is customary to apply spring cattle soil on the horns of plowed cattle. Legend has it that rinderpest can be avoided. In southern Shanxi, people pay attention to using spring cow soil to paint stoves, which is said to be able to get rid of earthworms.