Alternative New Year

angry doc wonders how this story got onto the newspaper today:


Chinese New Year should begin today

The Chinese New Year should actually begin today, Feb 4, if you calculate it using the solar calendar, says one feng shui master.

However, most Singaporeans will stick to welcoming The Year of the Rat on Thursday (Feb 7). This is because the date for the new year has traditionally been identified using the lunar calendar. It is a simpler way to determine when the new year begins for the Chinese because it uses the moon as a gauge.

But, a more accurate manner should be based on the books which contain the solar calendar based on the sun, according to Mr Yun Long Zi, who practices geomancy or feng shui. He said that more than 99 per cent of Chinese are not aware of a solar calendar.

"Most people are not able to trace or to know which date we're at according to the solar calendar, but everybody knows the date according to the lunar calendar because they just have to go out at night and look at the moon. If there's no moon, it's the first day of the month and if it's a full moon, it'll be the 15th day of the month," said Mr Yun.

"The earth will revolve around the sun and go back to the same spot and that's the definition of the beginning of a new year. Since it's the earth revolving around the sun, it'll only be accurate if we calculate according to the solar calendar."


Wow. Thanks to My Yun, angry doc finally learns why Chinese New Year is not on the same day every year.

Just goes to show that 99% of 1 billion Chinese can still be wrong, doesn't it?