The beginning of spring and the Lantern Festival are connected, which only happens 6 times in this century!

February 4 and February 5 will usher in the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival respectively. These two festivals are closely connected, which is double happiness. It is understood that this interesting coincidence has only occurred 6 times in the 100 years of the 21st century.

February 4th is the beginning of spring, when the earth begins to thaw, hibernating insects gradually wake up, and spring, when all things revive, is about to come; February 5th is the Lantern Festival, also known as the "Festival of Lights", which is a traditional festival in my country that has continued for more than 2,000 years.

Why are these two special days so closely connected this year? Yang Jing, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society and director of the Tianjin Astronomical Society, explained that the Gregorian calendar is based on the movement cycle of the earth's revolution around the sun, which is a tropical year; the lunar calendar is based on the changes in the moon phases and takes into account the tropical year, and is my country's traditional calendar.

The 24 solar terms were gradually formed and determined by the ancient Chinese through observing the annual movement of the sun using a gnomon to measure its shadow. Because they follow the law of the tropical year, the dates of the 24 solar terms on the Gregorian calendar have a relatively fixed range.

The date of the Beginning of Spring in the Gregorian calendar is basically fixed, on February 3, 4 or 5 every year, but the date of the Lantern Festival in the Gregorian calendar is not fixed. As far as the 100 years of the 21st century are concerned, it will occur on any day between February 4 and March 5 in the Gregorian calendar.

"This year, there is a difference of two days between the Great Cold and the first day of the first lunar month, and about 15 days between the Great Cold and the Beginning of Spring. The first day to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is 15 days, so the Beginning of Spring and the Lantern Festival are closely linked." Yang Jing said.

According to statistics, in the 100 years of the 21st century, the Beginning of Spring and the Lantern Festival have been closely linked six times, namely 2004, 2023, 2042, 2061, 2080 and 2099.

Is it possible that the Beginning of Spring and the Lantern Festival fall on the same day? "This is quite rare. It has not happened in the past 100 years of this century. The last time this happened was in 1966, when the Beginning of Spring and the Lantern Festival fell on February 4 of the Gregorian calendar," said Yang Jing.

On the day of the Beginning of Spring, an important folk custom in our country is to "bite the spring". People in the north eat spring pancakes, while people in the south eat spring rolls. On the Lantern Festival, people in the north generally eat Yuanxiao made by the shaking method, while people in the south often eat Glutinous Rice Balls made by the wrapping method.

"We eat spring rolls today and Yuanxiao tomorrow. It is because of the coincidence of our country's traditional calendar that we have this wonderful experience. While tasting the food, we not only deepen our understanding of traditional festival culture, but also master the relevant common sense of astronomy and calendar." Yang Jing said.