CONTENTS
Time
The Year
Festivals
TIME
There are twelve hours in the day of the Empire, each equivalent to two Western hours; they have an hour title and are named after one of the animals in the zodiac. Each is divided into eight
ke, equivalent to quarter of a Western hour; there are 96 ke in one day.
Western Hours
| Empire Hour
| Hour Name
|
| Midnight-2am | First | Rat |
| 2am-4am | Second | Ox |
| 4am-6am | Third | Tiger |
| 6am-8am | Fourth | Rabbit |
| 8am-10am | Fifth | Dragon |
| 10am-Noon | Sixth | Snake |
| Noon-2pm | Seventh | Horse |
| 2pm-4pm | Eighth | Sheep |
| 4pm-6pm | Ninth | Monkey |
| 6pm-8pm | Tenth | Rooster |
| 8pm-10pm | Eleventh | Dog |
| 10pm-Midnight | Hour | Pig |
THE YEAR
The year of the Jade Empire has 12 month calendar, each month named after one of the Clans and consisting of 30 days; to make up the required total of days, there are four Season Days and New Year's Day. There are seven days in a week, each named after one of the Virtues of Bushidou.
Western Day
| Empire Day
|
| Monday | Yuki |
| Tuesday | Jin |
| Wednesday | Gi |
| Thursday | Rei |
| Friday | Makoto |
| Saturday | Chugi |
| Sunday | Meiyo |
Western Month
| Empire Month
|
| January | Lantern |
| February | Silk |
| March | Sword |
| April | Pine |
| May | Mountain |
| June | Glacier |
| July | Tundra |
| August | Cloud |
| September | Rice |
| October | Bamboo |
| November | Lotus |
| December | Wave |
(Note: The months do not line up exactly, due to the length of Empire months.)
The calendar was first established in YE 4 (Year of the Emperor), during the reign of Huang Kinshi, the First Emperor, and post-dated back so that the first year of the Emperor's reign was the first year of the calendar. In YE 10, it was discovered that the calendar was becoming out of step with the seasons, and an extra day was instituted every four years to make up the shortfall. This is celebrated as Huang Day and is the day before New Year's Day.
[2012 corresponds to the Year YE372]
FESTIVALS
There are fifteen Imperial festivals celebrated every year; towns and villages may have festivals celebrating special events. Huang Day is celebrated every four years.
New Year's Day
Celebrated before the first day of the year, this celebrates the new year and new possibilities. Everyone celebrates becoming one year older, regardless of their actual birthday; presents are often exchanged, wrapped in red paper or cloth. People clean their houses to sweep away bad fortune and make room for new good luck. Windows and doors are decorated with red cloth and poems about happiness, wealth and longevity, and firecrackers are fired off to scare away bad spirits and bad fortune. Each family has a feast in the evening, and dumplings and rice porridge with nuts and fruit are eaten. People make an effort to reconcile grudges and feuds, and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.
Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival is three days long and ends on the first full moon of the year. It is a festival of family and Clan, their triumphs over the last year and the continued hope for success. Lanterns are made in many shapes, most often of animals and birds and historical figures. Lanterns painted with auspicious characters and poems are also popular. Fireworks and sky lanterns are also let off.
Ancestor Day
Ancestor Day is celebrated as the Autumn Season Day, on the Autumn Equinox. It celebrates the ancestors that have gone before, recalls their achievements, and descendants pray for their approval and protection. People go to their ancestors' grave or memorial sites and use willow branches bound into bundles to sweep the graves. The graves are cleaned and repaired, and leave special offerings of rice and rice wine. Strings of prayers written on paper or prayer flags are tied over the graves.
Girls' Day
This is celebrated on the first Meiyo of Sword Month. It celebrates girls and young women, and they are given gifts appropriate to their age and path in life; clothing and auspicious poem scrolls are popular. Banners and streamers with butterfly motifs are flown, as the butterfly symbolises emerging beauty and grace, and joyful change. At the age of ten, a child becomes an adolescent, and this is the day that girls celebrate this. They dress in their fanciest clothes and make their first independent offering at a temple, lighting a red candle and ten incense sticks.
Boys' Day
This is celebrated on the first Meiyo of Pine Month. It celebrates boys and young men, and they are given gifts appropriate to their age and path in life; clothing and auspicious poem scrolls are popular. Banners and streamers with carp motifs are flown, as the carp symbolises strength and perserverance. At the age of ten, a child becomes an adolescent, and this is the day that boys celebrate this. They dress in their fanciest clothes and make their first independent offering at a temple, lighting a red candle and ten incense sticks.
Lord Moon Day
Lord Moon Day is celebrated as the Winter Season Day, on the Winter Solstice. People pray at shrines and temples to Lord Moon, and there are sacred dances at the Moon Temple. Courtiers often wear special silver ornaments on this day.
Coming-of-Age
Coming at the end of Winter Court, this is the day when all young people who have turned eighteen officially come of age and are considered adults. They wear their fanciest clothes, often in heavy silk brocade with fur trim. There are ceremonies at temples and shrines for the coming-of-age where the new adult lights a red candle and eighteen incense sticks, and the writes a prayer tablet with their hopes for their life as an adult.
Fortunes Festival
A three-day festival celebrating the Fortunes, this ends on the first full moon of Tundra Month. Lanterns in the shape of the Fortunes, or painted with their names, are lit in their honour, and prayers are said to invite their blessing.
Star Festival
Held on the seventh day of the seventh month, this festival celebrates marriage and its virtues. Long ago, a weaver girl and a herdsman met, fell in love, and married; but their lord was jealous of their happiness, and cursed them to be forever apart; they could never even see each other. The Heavenly Court saw this and took pity on them, and took them up into the heavens as stars, where they could always see each other. On the seventh day of the seventh month, a pair of Tianlong (Heavenly Dragons) bring them together for a night. This is a night where courtships are traditionally begun, and couples write their names on incense sticks, tie them together, and burn them in the hope that their scent will reach the Herdsman and his Weaver Girl, and they will be blessed with the same happiness and fidelity.
Pure Brightness Day
Pure Brightness Day is celebrated as the Spring Season Day, on the Spring Equinox. It is a celebration of all the Heavenly Court, and the most important religious festival of the year. People pray at shrines and temples to the whole Heavenly Court, and there are sacred dances at all the Temples and Monasteries.
Double-Ninth
Nine is a highly yang number, and the high yang of the ninth of the ninth means that it is a day for quiet and meditation (yin activities) to balance the yang influence. Climbing to high points is also a common custom on this day. Lotus tea is drunk for its yang-decreasing properties. Empress Huang Kinshi VII died and Ascended on this day in 242 YE, and ever since, this has been a celebration of the Imperial Family's wise rule. Chrysanthemum tea or wine is drunk in their honour.
Rice Festival
In the first three days after the rice planting is complete, the Rice Festival is held. Boxes of special rice with preserved fruit on top are given as gifts and sweets wrapped in rice paper are made. Incense is burned to pray for a good harvest.
Festival of Lights
The Festival of Lights is a time to remember those who have died within the last year. It is held on the first full moon of Bamboo Month. Lanterns are lit at their graves, incense burned, and prayers said. In places near rivers or the sea, lanterns are placed on miniature boats and they are sailed out to sea.
Lady Sun Day
Lady Sun Day is celebrated as the Summer Season Day, on the Summer Solstice. People pray at shrines and temples to Lady Sun, and there are sacred dances at the Sun Temple. Courtiers often wear special gold ornaments on this day.
Kite Day
Celebrated on the second Meiyo of Wave, Kite Day is a day of fun and recreation where everyone is encouraged to join in with childrens' games. Sporting competitions are held in the morning and elaborately-decorated kites are flown in the afternoon. Snack foods and fried foods such as rice balls (onigiri), pork buns, takoyaki, tempura, and dango sweets are served everywhere.
Huang Day
Celebrated only once every four years on the day before New Year's Day, this day is a celebration of the Imperial Family's rule. Chrysanthemum tea or wine is drunk in their honour. People pray at shrines and temples, and there are sacred dances at all the Temples and Monasteries. It is viewed as an especially lucky day, and prayer tablets hung on this day have special power. Strings of prayers written on paper or prayer flags are hung from every house, along with the red decorations for New Year. There is a feast on this night as well as on New Year's Day.
