TimeandDate printed this original article by Georg Rehberger on February 6, 2024. Used with permission. Edits by EarthSky.
2024 Lunar New 12 months
Billions of individuals have fun the Lunar New 12 months and should sustain with its shifting date. In 2024, the lunar yr begins 19 days later than in 2023. The offender? Hiding within the sky.
Many people have already forgotten about our New 12 months’s resolutions, whereas billions of individuals haven’t even gotten to the fireworks but: The brand new yr in East Asia and for a lot of Asian communities all over the world begins on February 10, 2024.
Generally known as Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam, and Seollal in Korea, the Lunar New 12 months celebration marks the primary new moon within the Chinese language lunisolar calendar, a system that integrates lunar phases and solar years.
The dragon follows the rabbit
February 10, 2024, ushers within the 12 months of the Dragon within the Chinese zodiac cycle. It follows the 12 months of the Rabbit that started on January 22, 2023. The distinction between final yr’s date and this yr’s date is 19 days.
Why is that? The Lunar New 12 months date depends on the moon. Since moon cycles are shorter than calendar months, the date for any particular new moon (like the primary new moon) shifts yearly. However is the new moon in query actually 19 days later than final yr? The reply lies in the way in which the Lunar New 12 months’s date is calculated.
Tips on how to calculate the Lunar New 12 months
The Lunar New 12 months is each linked to the starting of spring within the Chinese language calendar (February 4 or 5) and to the new moon.
The date for the Lunar New 12 months subsequently has to observe the date of the new moon closest to February 4 or 5. To search out the precise date, you’ll be able to observe three easy guidelines:
- Discover the new moon phases for your location between the December solstice and the March equinox. You mainly take a look at the brand new moons in January, February and March.
- Discover the new moon that’s closest to February 4 or 5, symbolizing the start of spring within the Chinese language calendar (Lìchun).
- Be sure the Lunar New 12 months date falls between January 21 and February 21. In any other case, it could be too early or too late for the start of spring within the Chinese language calendar.
Instance: 2024 Lunar New 12 months in Taipei
Let’s calculate this yr’s date for Taipei.* You may simply lookup moon phases to your location here. The new moon dates for 2024 in Taipei are:
- January 11, 2024
- February 10, 2024
- March 10, 2024
The closest new moon to the Chinese language spring date on February 4 or 5 is the new moon on February 10. Not solely is that this the closest moon phase, however each remaining moon phases are both earlier than January 21 or after February 21, disqualifying them from being Lunar New 12 months dates.
The graph above exhibits all dates for the Lunar New 12 months celebrations in Taipei* for the final 30 years. You may see that the dates shift backward within the calendar (downward within the graph) from yr to yr, solely to leap ahead (or up) once more, normally after three years.
The cyclical nature of the Lunar New 12 months turns into clearer by wanting on the new moon phases. The graph above exhibits the brand new moons in Taipei between January 21 and February 21. The brand new moons align completely with the Lunar New 12 months celebrations and present the wedding of lunar holidays with the solar calendar.
Subsequent yr’s date is 12 days earlier
The Lunar New 12 months date will typically be 11 or 12 days sooner than the earlier yr, except the brand new date can be sooner than January 21. For instance, Lunar New 12 months 2025 will probably be 12 days sooner than this yr, on January 29.
The yr after, in 2026, the date can’t transfer any earlier, since it could be earlier than January 21. Thus, the Lunar New 12 months will soar forward to February 17, 2026.
Backside line: The rationale the 2024 Lunar New 12 months is so late this yr is as a result of date of new moon and the way it aligns with spring within the Chinese language calendar.
* We chosen Taipei to point out the vacation knowledge as a result of the Lunar New Year holidays there are essentially the most constant in our database during the last 30 years. The moon phases are additionally proven for Taipei to maintain all the things in the identical time zone.
