THE BEGINNING OF SPRING

Today is the 4th of February and it is also Li Chun day or the beginnning of spring. Li Chun is a term in the Chinese Solar Calendar. This calendar charts the tropical year through the various seasons as a guide for the farmers. It is the calendar referred to for the purposes of Feng Shui, Ba Zi and in date selection. As mentioned earlier, the first day of the Chinese Solar Calendar is termed as Li Chun. It is the first day of the Yin month and usually falls on 4th or 5th of February. However, in the year 2017 it will fall on February 3rd.
Every month in the Chinese Solar calendar is marked by two Solar terms known as “Jie” and “Qi”. “Jie marks the beginning g of each Solar month and “Qi” marks the mid-point of each Solar month. So Li Chun happens to be the beginning of the first Chinese Solar month but it is not the beginning of the first Chinese Lunar month. On the other hand when the Chinese celebrate “Chinese New Year” they are celebrating the first day of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Remember that the Chinese have both a Solar Calendar and a Lunar Calendar which are merged to form the “Farmer’s Calendar”. Actually Chinese New Year means the “Farmer’s Calendar New Year” which usually falls on the first day of the Chinese Lunar calendar.
Actually the Year of the Boar for the Solar Calendar starts on the 4th of February which is marked by one of the Solar terms i.e. “Li Chun”. But in the Lunar Calendar it only starts on the 18th of February 2007 (the starting of the first day of the first month of the Lunar calendar). For those who make the calculation for Feng Shui and Ba Zi (one of the methods to calculate a person’s destiny) they use February 4th as the starting point of the New Year. For those who practice Zi Wei Dou Shu also known as “Purple Star” (another method to calculate a person’s destiny) the starting point of the Year of the Boar is February 18th 2007. The Chinese believe that if what you do on Li Chun is successful the rest of the year will be good for you.
Sources:
http://www.fengshuimastery.com/Year%202005.htm
http://www/1fengshui.com/kuatable.htm