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The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms (節氣). Lìchūn (pīnyīn) or Risshun (rōmaji) (Chinese and Japanese: 立春; Korean: 입춘; Vietnamese: Lập xuân; literally: "start of spring") is 1^st solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 315° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 330°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 315°. In Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around February 4 and ends around February 18 (February 19 East Asia time).

Contents 1 Pentads 2 Customs 3 Popular culture 3.1 Literature 4 References 5 See also

[edit] Pentads

Each solar term can be divided into 3 pentads (候). They are first pentad (初候), second pentad (次候) and last pentad (末候). Pentads in Lichun including:

China

• 東風解凍
• 蟄蟲始振
• 魚上冰

Japan

• 東風解凍
• 黄鶯睍睆
• 魚上氷

[edit] Customs

Lichun signifies the beginning of spring in East Asian cultures. Chinese New Year is celebrated around the time. Farmers often celebrate the beginning of Lichun with special village events, worships and offerings to gods and ceremonies for a blissful and prosperous new year. In China, People eat chūnbǐng (春餅) on this day.

In lunisolar calendar, new year might be before or after Lichun. A year without Lichun called 無春年 (no spring year). 無春年 is also known as 寡婦年 (widow year) in northern China or 盲年 (blind year) in southern China. Marriage is believed to be infelicity in a year without Lichun.<ref>有关寡妇年</ref>

[edit] Popular culture

[edit] Literature

Lichun was frequently mentioned in literature. The most famous one is probably Du Fu's (杜甫) shi (詩), simply titled Lìchūn (立春):

春日春盤細生菜
忽憶兩京梅發時
盤出高門行白玉
菜傳纖手送青絲
巫峽寒江那對眼
杜陵遠客不勝悲
此身未知歸定處
呼兒覓紙一題詩

This poem tells us about the traditional custom of eating chūnbǐng (春餅) on this day.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Setsubun (節分), the day before the beginning of each season, celebrated when winter changes to spring in Japan

ja:立春

ko:입춘 vi:Lập xuân zh:立春 zh-classical:立春 zh-min-nan:Li̍p-chhun