【Lucky Golden Dog】When exactly does the Year of the Dog begin?

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This post was last edited by Desert Fish on 2018-2-17 22:48. Original title: When does the Dog Year actually begin? It turns out we were all wrong. Since this year’s Lunar New Year came late, the beginning of spring fell before the New Year, which raised a question: between the beginning of spring and Lunar New Year, which day marks the start of the Dog Year? In fact, this is already an old topic. In 2015, the beginning of spring also occurred earlier than the Spring Festival, and at that time some people suggested that the Year of the Sheep arrived before the Spring Festival. Many people believe that the first day of the first lunar month marks the beginning of the zodiac cycle. If it were the Start of Spring that marked this beginning, it would surely shake the beliefs of many people! This way of calculating it exists because the twelve zodiac signs are derived from the twelve Earthly Branches. The sexagenary cycle is a solar calendar, with the dividing point being the Beginning of Spring (i.e., February 3rd to 5th in the Gregorian calendar), resulting in each year having exactly 365.25 days. Therefore, the transition of zodiac signs should also be marked by the beginning of spring. Many experts also agree with this algorithm: Professor Ye Chunsheng, vice president of the Chinese Folklore Society, believes that the zodiac cycle begins with the start of spring, rather than on the first day of the lunar new year. The date and time of the Beginning of Spring are precisely calculated by calendar experts based on the Earth’s rotation and revolution, with solid scientific backing. Li Min, secretary-general of the Jiangsu Astronomical Society, believes that the zodiac cycle should start from the beginning of spring. Li Min said that in ancient China, the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches were used to record years, months, and days. The concept of the twelve zodiac signs exists only because of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches system for counting years. “This system is different from the lunar calendar. ”Li Min said that the sexagenary cycle is based on the sun as a reference point; the alternation of the heavenly stems and earthly branches begins with the beginning of spring each year. For example, the Year of the Horse is the Jiawu year, while the Year of the Sheep is the Yimi year. According to this system, each year lasts around 365.25 days. According to this algorithm, children born at 5:28 on February 4th are considered cute puppy babies! In reality, however, the vast majority of people are unaware that the zodiac cycle can also be counted starting from the beginning of spring; they think it should start from the Spring Festival. Of course, some experts believe that the Spring Festival (the first day of the first lunar month) should still be used as the starting point for the zodiac signs. Some folklore experts believe that zodiac signs should not be determined based on the twenty-four solar terms; after all, the Spring Festival marks the beginning of the lunar New Year as well as the start of a new zodiac year, so it is only natural for zodiac signs to be counted starting from the first day of the first lunar month. In 2015, the China Science News published an article refuting the claim that the zodiac cycle begins with the Start of Spring, arguing that since the lunar calendar is a lunisolar calendar, it is normal for the Start of Spring in the following year to fall after that of the previous year; this does not mean that the zodiac signs should also shift forward, as that would create chaos. Given that even experts have no definitive answer to this question, why should we take it so seriously?