Shiyiyue

Shíyīyuè (Chinese: 十一月) is the eleventh month of the Chinese calendar and calendars based on it, such as the Japanese calendar, Korean calendar and Vietnamese calendar. It follows Shíyuè and precedes Làyuè. It is known in Japanese as Jūichigatsu (Japanese: 十一月) or traditionally Shimotsuki (Japanese: 霜月), and in Korean as Sibirwol (Korean: 십일월; Hanja: 十一月) or traditionally Jwidal (Korean: 쥐달; Hanja: 子月). All of these words can also refer to the month of November in the Gregorian calendar.

In the Tenpō calendar, the last official version of the Japanese calendar, the eleventh month must always include the winter solstice. The same rule exists in the Chinese calendar.

Names

In Mandarin Chinese, traditional names of the month include dōngyuè (Chinese: 冬月) and zhòngdōng (Chinese: 仲冬).

In Japanese, the month is known as jūichigatsu (Japanese: 十一月) or traditionally shimotsuki (Japanese: 霜月). Alternative Japanese names include kagurazuki (Japanese: 神楽月) and yukimachizuki (Japanese: 雪待月).

Observances

• In kabuki, actors traditionally make their debut on the 1st day of the 11th month.
• Shichi-Go-San was traditionally celebrated on the 15th day of the 11th month.
• Niiname-sai was traditionally celebrated on the last day of the 11th month.
• The Dongzhi Festival is celebrated at the winter solstice.

Dates

Below is a list of the start and end dates of Shíyīyuè 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