On the 23rd, the first day of April in the year of gengzi mouse in the lunar calendar, and after this April, there is a leap April. Two lunar "April" totaling 59 days.

As a calendar phenomenon, "leap April" is relatively rare, with a general interval of 8 or 11 years and a maximum interval of 38 years, according to astronomers. In the 21st century, there are eight leap April years. The most recent one is 2012 (Renchen year), and the next is 2058 (Wuyin year).

The reason why leap moon appears in Chinese lunar year is that the traditional lunar calendar adopted by China for thousands of years is actually a combination of yin and Yang, which not only considers the return year of the solar calendar directly related to the sun, but also considers the new moon with the lunar phase change. The average number of a new moon is 29.5306 days, and the total number of 12 new moon months is 354 or 355 days, which is about 11 days different from the return year (about 365.25 days), and the total number of three years has exceeded one month.

The adjustment method is to arrange 13 months in some years, and there are two same months, which are called "intercalation". The rule of "intercalation" is based on 24 solar terms. The lunar calendar takes the twelve Zhongq as the symbol of twelve months, that is, each month has a certain amount of Zhongq. In ancient times, there were different arrangements for the leap month of the lunar calendar, but from the Han Dynasty, a method of intercalation was gradually formed, which called the leap month of the previous month as the month without Zhongq. "Leap April" in the year of gengzi mouse in the lunar calendar is the leap month in April of the previous month. In the same month, there is only the solar term of "grain planting", while Zhongqi's "summer solstice" falls on the first day of may in the lunar calendar.

The leap April of the year of the rat begins on May 23 and ends on June 20. Astronomy experts say that although leap April is rare, it is also a normal calendar phenomenon. It has nothing to do with good or bad luck. The public should face it with a common heart.

Time: April 24, 2020

Source: Xinhua News Agency