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A guide to the Chinese Lunar Calendar

the Horse 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., the Sheep 1 p.m. - 3 p.m., the Monkey 3 p.m. - 5 p.m., the Rooster 5 p.m. - 7 p.m., the Dog 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. and the Pig 9 p.m. - 11 p.m.. In the field of horoscope, the months are also called after Earthly Branches. It is believed that each animal of the Earthly Branches symbolizes certain characteristics of nature and human. For example, the year of the Dragon often has more rain and consequently floods and storms than other years. Taking that into account together with the element of the Heavenly Stems, an experienced user of the Chinese Lunar Calendar can roughly predict the course of weather in the year, which is important in agricultural countries.

Also for agricultural purpose, there are 24 special days marked in the Lunar Calendar called "jiaki". They are the days which mark the seasonal change and are named after the typical characteristic of that period. They are "Beginning of Spring", "Slight Rain", "Worms appearing", "Mid Spring", "Clear Sky", "Shower", "Beginning of Summer", "Small Flood", "Rising Star", "Mid Summer", "Slight Heat", "Strong Heat", "Beginning of Autumn", "Rain that Lasts Long", "Slight Sunshine", "Mid Autumn", "Cool Weather", "Fog Appearing", "Beginning of Winter", "Snow Appearing", "Strong Snow", "Mid Winter", "Slight Cold" and "Strong Cold".

Nowadays, the Chinese Lunar Calendar is mostly used to calculate traditional holidays and festivals. It still play an important role in the countryside where agriculture still depends much on nature. Another use of the Chinese Lunar Calendar is Chinese horoscope where people calculate the good day for business, marriage, travel, etc based on the characteristic of the time describe in the Calendar.

Learn more about this author, Minh Tran.
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