When is Tomb-Sweeping Day in 2022? What's the lunar calendar date in Tomb-Sweeping Day?
There is a folk saying that April 5th is Tomb-Sweeping Day, but in real life, the exact date of Tomb-Sweeping Day is not fixed, that is, what people call Tomb-Sweeping Day must be on April 5th. This is because Tomb-Sweeping Day is not simply calculated according to the lunar calendar or the lunar calendar. Tomb-Sweeping Day was originally a solar term, but now astronomers have a new way to divide 20 solar terms, that is, to divide 24 solar terms by the degree of the ecliptic. The so-called longitude of the sun is the position of the sun on the ecliptic.
So what is the ecliptic of the sun? As far as the earth is concerned, in addition to its rotation, it will revolve around the sun, that is, it will complete a circle once a year, thus forming a 360-degree longitude. Divide 360 degrees into 24 equal parts, each part is 15 degrees, which is a solar term, adding up to 24 solar terms. Now the Gregorian calendar divides the ecliptic into 365 equal parts, which is 365 days. So in terms of the same share of 24 and 365, there is a proportion between them, so the dates of solar terms in the solar calendar are different. So the date in Tomb-Sweeping Day is sometimes April 5th, maybe April 4th.
However, the calculation rules of traditional festivals such as Mid-Autumn Festival, Lantern Festival and Spring Festival are different, mainly based on the lunar calendar. The so-called lunar calendar means watching the moon go round and round, that is, when the sun shines directly on the equator, we will usher in the vernal equinox among the 24 solar terms. Now the longitude of the Yellow River is 0 degrees. When the sun reaches the longitude of the Yellow River 15 degrees, it will clear up. This calculation method has a long history. It has been used for more than 300 years since 1645. You can also look at the night sky in an ancient way. Look at bucket handle in the Big Dipper. When the direction is south by east, that is, the Z position, it is clear.
Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as the outing festival, is a day for us to worship our ancestors and one of the legal holidays. This festival in Tomb-Sweeping Day has existed since ancient times, and the holiday time in Tomb-Sweeping Day is different in each dynasty. Tomb-Sweeping Day began in the Tang Dynasty. During the Xuanzong period of the Tang Dynasty, Qingming and cold food had a holiday together. From 65438 to 0935, the government of the Republic of China clearly stipulated April 5th as a national holiday in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Since 2008, Tomb-Sweeping Day has become a national festival in China.
Tomb-Sweeping Day time is different every year, and it is possible to become Tomb-Sweeping Day from April 4th to April 6th in the new calendar. In 2022, Tomb-Sweeping Day time falls on April 5th of the lunar calendar, March 5th in the case of the lunar calendar, and the fifth solar term is Qingming. As a festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day is different from pure solar terms. Solar terms indicate phenological changes and seasonal order, while festivals contain spiritual beliefs and customs. There are two important factors in the formation of Tomb-Sweeping Day, one is ancestral belief, and the other is sacrificial culture. Tomb-Sweeping Day is an important carrier of family ethics and belief inheritance.