Is it better to celebrate birthdays on the lunar or solar calendar?

China used to use the lunar calendar, while foreign countries used the solar calendar. In other words, the lunar calendar is unique to China. Is it better to celebrate birthdays according to the lunar calendar? Or is it better to use the Gregorian calendar?

Is it better to celebrate birthdays on the lunar or solar calendar?

For thousands of years, the Chinese have started a new year on the first day of the lunar New Year, which means that after New Year's Eve, everyone is one year older (although the real New Year is measured according to the Beginning of Spring). Therefore, birthdays were usually celebrated using the lunar calendar (lunar calendar) in the past. However, after the reform and opening up, the younger generation usually celebrates their birthdays according to the Gregorian calendar. So in this sense, everyone can actually have two days every year to celebrate their birthday, one on the lunar calendar and one on the Gregorian calendar.

A friend asked: "Should we celebrate birthdays according to the solar calendar or the lunar calendar? I am very confused about this. Most of us adults celebrate our birthdays according to the solar calendar, and many places also celebrate according to the lunar calendar (mostly in rural areas). I have always celebrated my birthday according to the lunar calendar. Should I change it now?"

We believe that birthdays should be an activity, a meaningful event, so naturally the greater the significance and the more elaborate it is, the better. First of all, let's talk about the Gregorian calendar. This day is extremely realistic. It is the main symbol of your legal identity. It has the widest range of universality and is extremely accurate. If you celebrate this birthday, it will be one day off every year. And it is highly promotable. And you will naturally close your eyes and make a wish while listening to the music wishing you a happy birthday! How wonderful! But from the Chinese perspective, the meaning of the lunar calendar is much more profound than this. In a broad sense, it is a kind of civilization, Eastern civilization, a kind of historical accumulation, ranging from a person to a country or a nation. .Birthday in Chinese tradition is called birth date, which includes four parts, year, month, day and hour, each part is expressed in the Ganzhi timekeeping method, so each part has two characters, which are the so-called birth date. The meaning and use of the birth date and time characters in ancient times were even greater. Even your life fortune, good and bad luck, can be known from the eight characters. There are subtleties and mysteries. Therefore, the lunar calendar birthday is more in line with our Chinese habits and creates a more harmonious atmosphere. In a word, it depends on your own habits.

2. Some people say that “birthdays cannot be celebrated on the lunar calendar”, is that true?

As the saying goes, "We cannot celebrate birthdays according to the lunar calendar because we are people in the yang world." We think this is pure nonsense and does not understand our traditional culture at all. For thousands of years, Chinese people have celebrated their birthdays according to the lunar calendar, and it is only a few years since they have celebrated their birthdays according to the solar calendar (i.e. the Gregorian calendar).

3. Some people say that on birthdays, "You can eat cake, but you must not blow out the candles, because each time you blow out the candles, you will miss one more year of your life."

This is also nonsense. If someone says, "It is a very unclean habit to blow out the colorful candles before sharing the cake on birthdays," it makes sense to just do it perfunctorily. Since I heard that candles are not food and are not processed, packaged, and transported according to food standards, there is no good way to disinfect them after they are contaminated. Moreover, as a by-product of petroleum, candles themselves are rich in substances that are harmful to the human body. When these candles are inserted into the cake, the chemical components in them will react chemically with the cream. There are many candles on the cake, and you have to use force to blow them out in one breath. Saliva or other body fluids are also likely to splash onto the cake. These secretions are usually rich in bacteria or viruses, which usually cause harm to the health of people who eat the cake.

4. Which birthdays in your life are the most important?

The first birthday is the first birthday, which is almost the most important birthday.

The 30th birthday is also very important, because thirty is the age when one stands on his own feet.

In the past, birthdays were celebrated with more care. If it is the birthday of a respected head of a large family, there will be corresponding celebrations. Traditional birthdays are usually calculated based on the lunar calendar age.

Whole birthday: refers to the birthday when the single digit is 9 or 0.

For example: 59 years old, 60 years old, 49 years old, 50 years old, etc.

They have different names:

Daqing birthdays are those with the last digit of 9, such as 39 49 59 69 79, etc.

Zhengqing birthdays are celebrated every time the last digit of the birthday is 0, such as 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, etc.

Scattered birthdays: birthdays with the last digit being 1-8, such as 51-58 years old.