How do people born in the leap fifth month celebrate their birthdays?
People born in a leap month can celebrate their solar calendar birthday!The ancients set up leap months based on the 24 solar terms. The odd-numbered ones among the 24 solar terms are called "solar terms," and the even-numbered ones are called "mid-solar terms." When a lunar month does not have a mid-solar term, it is set as a leap month. This situation usually occurs in the fourth and fifth months, so the leap fourth and fifth months appear most frequently in a leap year, while the leap ninth and tenth months are less common, and the leap eleventh, twelfth, and first months occur the least frequently.
It is obviously not realistic to wait decades or centuries to celebrate a birthday. So how do children born in a leap month celebrate their birthdays? The ancient practice was that the leap month was attached to the "month requiring intercalation." If there was no leap month in that year, they would celebrate the birthday on the same day of the month. For example, if someone was born on the first day of the leap seventh month, they would celebrate it on the first day of the seventh month. There is another situation: if someone was born on the last day of the lunar year, and that year has no thirty days, they would celebrate it on the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month.
In modern times, many young people mostly celebrate their solar calendar birthdays and no longer celebrate their lunar birthdays. Therefore, the awkwardness of waiting decades to celebrate a birthday is becoming increasingly rare. Only the older generation still maintains the habit of celebrating lunar birthdays. However, if one really needs to wait for decades or even centuries, they probably have to gradually adapt to celebrating solar birthdays.
Why are there leap months?
We can quote a passage from the Tong Shu: “The imperial edition of the 'Comprehensive Explanation of Mathematics and Principles' includes the 'Treatise on Astronomy and Calendar,' which calculates the new moon, full moon, and quarter moons, the size of the months, the time of solar terms, etc., through astronomical and mathematical calculations to align with the official calendar. A leap month actually arises due to the surplus of solar terms and the lack of new moons. Each year, due to the Earth's north-south movement and east-west rotation, the degree is determined accordingly. A new moon is less than 30 days, and a solar term is more than 30 days. The accumulation of surplus and deficit results in the formation of a leap month. The sequence of the four seasons—growth, harvest, storage, and rest—is maintained, so a leap month occurs every three years, twice every five years, and seven times every nineteen years. This is the fixed rule for setting leap months, determining the length of the year and the surplus or deficit of solar terms.” In short, because of the order of the calendar, sometimes there is an excess or deficiency in the new moon, and when these accumulate, after the first three years, there is a leap month, and again after five years, another leap month. Calculating over 19 years, there are generally seven leap months. This is the origin of the leap month, the reason why it occurs. This is closely related to our lunar calendar.The flow of the year's fortune in 2019 has already changed. It is recommended to calculate your own fortune in advance, correct what needs correction, and add what needs adding, so that the new year goes smoothly and safely.
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