Layue

Làyuè (Chinese: 臘月／腊月) is the twelfth month of the Chinese calendar and calendars based on it, such as the Japanese calendar, Korean calendar and Vietnamese calendar. It follows Shíyīyuè and precedes Zhēngyuè. It is known in Japanese as Jūnigatsu (Japanese: 十二月) or traditionally Shiwasu (Japanese: 師走), and in Korean as Sibirwol (Korean: 십이월; Hanja: 十二月) or traditionally Sodal (Korean: 소달; Hanja: 丑月). All of these words can also refer to the month of December in the Gregorian calendar.

Names

In Mandarin Chinese, traditional names of the month include jìdōng (Chinese: 季冬), jiāpíng (Chinese: 嘉平), chúyuè (Chinese: 除月) and bīngyuè (Chinese: 冰月). The name làyuè refers to a sacrifice called làjì (臘祭) that occurred after the winter solstice.

In Japanese, the month is known as jūnigatsu (Japanese: 十二月). Its traditional name is shiwasu (Japanese: 師走; "priests running"), due to Buddhist monks hurrying from house to house to conduct end-year rites. Other Japanese names include gokugetsu (Japanese: 極月) and rōgetsu (Japanese: 臘月).

Observances

• The Laba Festival is held on the 8th day of the 12th month. Some other East Asian countries celebrate Bodhi Day on the same day.
• Little New Year is celebrated on the 23rd day of the 12th month in northern China and the 24th day in southern China.
• Chinese New Year's Eve falls on the last evening of the lunar year.
• Ōmisoka was celebrated in Japan on the last day of the 12th month.
• The winter great purification was traditionally performed on the last day of the twelfth month in Japan.

Events

Puyi, the 12th Qing emperor of China, issued the imperial abdication edict on Layue 25, 1911.

Births

• Emperor Go-Uda, the 91st emperor of Japan, Shiwasu 1, 1269
• Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, Shiwasu 26, 1542
• Uemura Masahisa, a Japanese Christian pastor, theologian and critic of Meiji and Taishō periods, Shiwasu 1, 1857
• Imperial Noble Consort Shushen, an Imperial concubine of the Tongzhi Emperor, Làyuè 1, 1859

Deaths

• Yue Fei, Yue Yun, Zhang Xian, military generals who lived in the Southern Song dynasty, Làyuè 29_th 1141
• Lu You, a prominent poet of China's Southern Song dynasty, Làyuè 29_th 1209
• Emperor Go-Hanazono, the 102nd emperor of Japan, Shiwasu 27_th 1470
• Lê Uy Mục, the eighth king of the later Lê dynasty of Vietnam, Làyuè 1_st 1509
• Yi Gwang-sik, a Korean politician and general during the Joseon dynasty, Làyuè 1_st 1563

Dates

Below is a list of the start and end dates of Làyuè in the Gregorian calendar. Because the 1-hour difference between China and Japan/Korea occasionally affects the date on which a new moon occurs, the dates below can differ from those of the Japanese and Korean calendars.

References