Lunar Calendar

Lunar calendar

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Lunar calendars are based on cycles of the moon phase. Today, the only popular lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar.The drawback of the pure lunar calendar is that it drifts by 11 or 12 days every year and therefore does not fit the seasons.

In order to overcome the drifting problem, most lunar calendars - such as the Hebrew Chinese and Hindu calendars - are actually lunisolar calendars.With this system, intercalary months are added to the lunar cycle- thus keeping the solar and lunar years synchronized. This means that once every two years an extra 13th month is added.

it is important to note, that the first days of the year and months are different with different calendars. In the Chinese calendar, for instance, the first day of a month is the day when an eclipse moon appears in a particular time zone. With most other lunar calendars the first day of the month is based on sighting of a lunar crescent.

In Chinese astrology, the 12 animals are not linked to the lunar calendar, but rather to the traditional Chinese agricultural calendar. This calendar is derived into 24 two week segments. The 12 animals are each linked to two two week periods.