The year 2024 is considered the Year of the Widow, which is a traditional custom.
However, it has been suggested that a joint document should be issued to guide residents to marry normally and not be affected by this notion.
Although the Year of the Widow was considered unlucky in ancient times, it is now time to look at such claims with a scientific attitude and not allow these old customs and ideas to continue to affect people's lives.
Therefore, we should abandon these customs, which have a negative impact on people, and respect the rights and dignity of every person.
The Year of the Widow, also known as the Year of the Slippery Head, the Year of No Spring or the Year of Blind Spring, refers to a special year in the chronological system of the lunar calendar that does not include the beginning of the Spring Solar term.
The last such widow's year occurred in 2005, following a cycle of 19 years, and we are about to have this unique phenomenon again in 2024.
However, this does not mean that the natural frequency of the beginning of spring has decreased, it is just an interesting phenomenon created by the alternation of the lunar and solar calendars, rather than a deliberate attempt to "toss" the general public, especially women.
According to the calculation rules of the lunar calendar, every 19 years constitute a complete cycle, including 7 widow years without the beginning of spring, 7 double spring years with two beginning of spring, and 5 single spring years with only one beginning of spring, for a total of 19 beginning of spring solar terms.
The double spring year, that is, the first year of the year, has two solar terms of the beginning of spring, symbolizing double rebirth and hope.
The beginning of spring, as the first of the 24 solar terms, carries the meaning of the recovery and vitality of all things, indicating that the harsh winter is coming, and spring is coming with full vitality.
Before that, the primroses are the first to bloom in a golden glow, heralding the arrival of the warm season.
As a result, whether it is the harvest of food, the fun of playing, a leisurely stroll or a beautiful scenery, they are all quietly approaching with the footsteps of the beginning of spring.
People are eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the beginning of spring like the cycle of the four seasons, looking forward to the warmth from the inside out. In fact, the entire natural world seems to be waiting for spring to appear in full costume with the same expectation.
As for whether Shuanglichun means doubling the good experience?
The answer, of course, is not so simple. The number of the beginning of spring does not directly correspond to the increase or decrease of life experience, it is more a reflection of the ingenious fit between the ancient Chinese calendar and the rhythm of nature, rather than a multiplying effect of some actual life experience.
The unique phenomenon of Shuanglichun is actually a natural reflection of the accuracy of the lunar calendar, although it is not absolutely accurate, but it demonstrates the wisdom of combining agricultural civilization and astronomical observation.
This lack of precision has shown extraordinary power and practicality in guiding agricultural production, and its ability to continue to this day just confirms the strong vitality and adaptability of the lunar system.
As early as 2016, the traditional 24 solar terms of China, a brilliant cultural treasure, was officially recognized by UNESCO and inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity due to its profound historical heritage and outstanding scientific value, becoming an important part of the world's cultural diversity.
The 24 solar terms are cleverly divided into two categories: solar terms and middle terms.
Among them, when the sun moves to an odd multiple of the yellow longitude of 15 degrees, it is a solar term, such as Qingming is located at 15 degrees, and Lixia is located at 45 degrees;
There are a total of 12 such solar terms every year, which are like important coordinates in the time of the year, marking the key moment of the change of seasons.
The other type is the middle qi, which is established when the sun travels to a double multiple of 15 degrees of yellow longitude, for example, Gu Yu is at 30 degrees, and Xiaoman corresponds to 60 degrees;
Similarly, there are 12 Zhongqi throughout the year, which are like pearls inlaid in the longitude and latitude of time, evenly distributed in each festival month, playing the role of defining the midpoint of the beginning and end of the festival month, and together constitute a subtle combination of ancient Chinese astronomy and agricultural culture.
The original rhythm of life seems to be the interweaving of festivals, just like the train that is speeding back home during the New Year, the wheels are rolling, clanging, and hitting every heartstring looking forward to reunion regularly and powerfully.
However, following such a natural rhythm cannot avoid the accumulation of errors caused by the passage of time.
If left unchecked, it may not be long before the wax moon turns from a frozen snow drift to the hottest season of the year.
Faced with this challenge, the ancestors came together to deliberate and come to a consensus: why not introduce a leap month to correct for the deviations in the passage of time?
Just like when repairing a house, if you find cracks in the floor or wall, you only need to fill in a piece of cement at the right time to make it smooth and restore the overall harmony and order.
A new question then arises—in which sequence should the leap month be placed? You must know that from January to the lunar month, these twelve months are like a strict and orderly group of soldiers, inserting a "new soldier" at will, and the slightest carelessness may make the original sequence unrecognizable, and even make it difficult to identify its original face.
Just imagine, even seven gourd babies with unique skills are not easy to deal with, let alone adding variables in the rigorous twelve-month cycle.
Since the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court has set up an important institution called Qin Tianjian, which is like an ancient observatory, shouldering the important responsibility of observing celestial phenomena and formulating calendars. Although the supreme leader of the Qin Heavenly Prison was only the fifth rank**, the people gathered among them were well-educated people, who were scientists rather than retainers in the court.
This rather mysterious institution not only undertakes the task of interpreting the changes in the celestial phenomena, such as meteor falls, ** changes and other phenomena, but also often speculates on the direction of the political wind and cleverly interprets some specific astronomical phenomena, such as "the Taibai Star retrograde between the willows and ghosts, and the streamer directly hits the bull fighting field" to map the political changes.
In those ordinary years, in order to show the sense of existence and contribution, Qin Tianjian occasionally put forward some concepts that are difficult to prove, such as the folk theory of "widow's year", although these lack of conclusive evidence, but also enrich people's cognition and imagination of the astronomical calendar to a certain extent.
Of course, we don't need to delve into how the Qin Tianjian interprets the laws of astronomy to the general public, the key is to understand that the insertion position of the leap month is precisely calculated by the Qin Tianjian.
Today, this task has been entrusted to the more scientific authority of the Nanjing Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which uses modern technology to ensure the accurate formulation of the lunar calendar.
As for the specific calculation method, considering that it is a festive season, let's put aside those brain-burning formulas for the time being and enjoy a moment of relaxation.
In ancient times, before there was no professional organization such as Qin Tianjian, the setting of leap months was not rigorous, and it seemed that any leap month could be used. The Qin Dynasty was the most straightforward, placing an extra month after the regular twelve months, known as the "thirteenth month", which was simple and intuitive.
In the Han Dynasty, in order to reflect the solemnity of the system, it was initially stipulated that the leap month was placed after September, which was called "Later September".
In the first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a more elaborate rule was formulated: the leap month should be inserted after the month that did not contain the middle air, as the leap month of the previous month, and this principle is still used today.
After thousands of years, the statistics show leap.
April, May, and June occur most frequently, while leap is the highest.
September and October are the least common, and from November to New Year, there is never a leap month.
If November, the lunar month and the first lunar month are pronounced at this time**: Our month also has solar terms, why can't it be intercalary? So, in the face of these questions, what are special calendar phenomena such as Shuanglichun?
Why is it called the "Year of the Widow" and rumored to be unfit for marriage?
What's more, is there any basis for the unequivocal claim that seven out of 19 widow years are not fit to marry?
However, in modern society, the younger generation has long since stopped believing in such myths and is more confident in their own choices and decisions.
You mentioned that it is not appropriate for a widow to get married, but someone has a big wedding at this time.
Considering the relationship cycle and pregnancy period, if you want to adjust your fertility rate, you need to prepare at least two years in advance.
Therefore, instead of worrying about the culture of non-marriage that can lead to widowhood and its impact on fertility, experts should focus on more practical issues.
The key factor influencing fertility is not the widowhood year, but the financial ability, energy commitment and willingness of young people to fall in love and get married.
Children born in the Year of the Dragon are known as "Dragons and Dragons", which has a beautiful meaning. The question now is: Are people still willing to have children?