On February 9, we ushered in the Chinese New Year's Eve. Open the calendar and you will find that 2024 is the last year in the next few years to have a Chinese New Year's Eve. In the five years from 2025 to 2029, there will be no Chinese New Year's Eve, and after the twenty-ninth year of the new year, the first day of the new year will be ushered in.
Where did the Chinese New Year's Eve go? Why does the Chinese New Year's Eve "play disappear" from time to time, and the first day of the new year is never "absent"? Astronomical science experts will answer your questions.
The occurrence of such a situation is related to the rules of China's lunar calendar. In China's lunar calendar, the lunar month is mainly formulated according to the cycle of the moon's full and short changes. Wang Kechao, director of science popularization at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that in the process of the moon revolving around the earth, the moon showed different appearances from the earth. When the moon and the sun are equal in the geocentric ecliptic longitude, the moon is not visible on the earth, and the moon phase at this moment is called the new day, and the day is called the new day, which is the first day of each lunar month, which is called the first day of the lunar calendar. Therefore, the first day of the new year occurs in every lunar month.
Wang Kechao introduced that the interval from one new to the next is a lunar month, known as the synodic month, with an average length of 2953 days. In fact, the length of the synodic month is not fixed, it is more than 29 days. The shortest in this century is 2927 days, up to 2982 days. Rounded up, the lunar month is divided into a big month and a small month, the former is 30 days and the latter is 29 days. If the wax moon happens to coincide with the lunar month, the Chinese New Year's Eve will be "absent".
The arrangement of the lunar months depends on the actual moon phases, and the arrangement of the major and minor months is different from that of the Gregorian months. In general, the two are arranged at a higher interval, and sometimes there are two large months in a row or two small months in a row. "According to long-term statistics, the proportion of Chinese New Year's Eve is slightly higher, and it is normal to have no Chinese New Year's Eve for 5 consecutive years, but it is relatively rare. Wang Kechao said.
The solar calendar is based on the cycle of the earth's revolution around the sun, and the lunar calendar is based on the cycle of the moon's full and waxing phases. The lunar calendar that has been used in China since ancient times takes into account the cycle of the moon's full and short changes and the length of the return year, which is a lunisolar calendar, demonstrating the superb wisdom of the ancients. Wang Kechao said.
Whether it is the twenty-ninth or the thirtieth year of the new year, the Chinese New Year's Eve is always connected with the beginning of the new year. People gather with their families on Chinese New Year's Eve to bid farewell to the old year, welcome the new year, and welcome a new good year together.