It is well known to those who are familiar with the lunar calendar that a regular lunar year has about 350 days, and years with a leap month can reach around 380 days. So when does a leap March occur? How often does it happen? Let's find out the latest information from Huayi Network. The placement of leap months in the lunar calendar has always been a human-made regulation, and different dynasties have had different methods for placing leap months. Let's learn more about the knowledge of leap months in the lunar calendar with Huayi Network.

When is a leap March?

1936 (Bing Zi Year), 1955 (Yi Wei Year), 1966 (Bing Wu Year),
1993 (Gui You Year), 2031 (Xin Hai Year), 2050 (Geng Wu Year),
2061 (Xin Si Year), 2080 (Geng Zi Year), 2118 (Wu Yin Year),
2156 (Bing Chen Year), 2175 (Yi Hai Year), 2194 (Jia Wu Year),
2213 (Gui Chou Year), 2232 (Xin Shen Year), 2251 (Xin Mao Year),

How often is a leap month?

Every two or three years. There is a common saying among the people, "seven leap months in nineteen years." In the lunar calendar, the total number of days in a normal year (which we will temporarily call "lunar months") is about 11 days less than the solar calendar. Therefore, the calendar regulations require adding an extra month every two or three years to compensate for approximately one month's difference. However, because this difference is not a regular number, it is not very regular which year needs to add a leap month. However, as the years increase, people have summarized a rule called "seven leap months in nineteen years," meaning that in nineteen years, the Chinese lunar calendar should have approximately seven years with a leap month. As to which month should be followed by a leap month, it depends on which month has the largest difference with the 24 solar terms, since the lunar calendar's 24 solar terms and the solar calendar dates are basically consistent. However, generally speaking, leap months are not placed after the twelfth lunar month (the lunar December) or the first lunar month (the lunar January). For example, in 2006, the Chinese lunar calendar had a leap July, and in 2009, it had a leap May.

The relationship between leap months and the Spring Festival date

(1) In the years with a leap January, the date of the Spring Festival falls between January 21st and 22nd.
(2) In the years with a leap February, the date of the Spring Festival falls between January 21st and 23rd, the earliest Dragon Head Raising Festival.
(3) In the years with a leap March, the date of the Spring Festival falls between January 21st and 24th (in 1811, it was on January 25th).
(4) In the years with a leap April, the date of the Spring Festival falls between January 22nd and 26th, the latest Dragon Boat Festival.
(5) In the years with a leap May, the date of the Spring Festival falls between January 24th and 28th (in 1903, it was on January 29th), the earliest Dragon Boat Festival and the latest Torch Festival.
(6) In the years with a leap June, the date of the Spring Festival falls between January 26th and 30th (in 1805, it was on January 31st), the earliest Torch Festival and the latest Qixi Festival and Zhongyuan Festival.
(7) In the years with a leap July, the date of the Spring Festival falls between January 28th and February 1st (in 2446, it was on January 27th), the earliest Qixi Festival and Zhongyuan Festival and the latest Mid-Autumn Festival.
(8) In the years with a leap August, the date of the Spring Festival falls between January 29th and February 1st, the earliest Mid-Autumn Festival and the latest Chongyang Festival.
(9) In the years with a leap September or a leap month after September, the date of the Spring Festival falls between January 30th and February 2nd.
(10) Years where the date of the Spring Festival is on February 3rd or later will not have a leap month, while years where the date of the Spring Festival is between January 31st and February 2nd may have a leap month or may not.