Start of Winter (Lidong 立冬): dates, pentads and the BaZi month change
The start of winter. Taiwan has a custom called bu dong (補冬), "fortifying for winter": people eat warming dishes such as sesame-oil chicken, ginger duck and mutton hot pot.
Start of Winter dates, 2026–2035
| Year | Date | Time (Taiwan, UTC+8) | Month pillar from this moment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | November 7 | 17:52 | Ji-Hai 己亥 month |
| 2027 | November 7 | 23:38 | Xin-Hai 辛亥 month |
| 2028 | November 7 | 05:27 | Gui-Hai 癸亥 month |
| 2029 | November 7 | 11:16 | Yi-Hai 乙亥 month |
| 2030 | November 7 | 17:08 | Ding-Hai 丁亥 month |
| 2031 | November 7 | 23:05 | Ji-Hai 己亥 month |
| 2032 | November 7 | 04:54 | Xin-Hai 辛亥 month |
| 2033 | November 7 | 10:41 | Gui-Hai 癸亥 month |
| 2034 | November 7 | 16:33 | Yi-Hai 乙亥 month |
| 2035 | November 7 | 22:23 | Ding-Hai 丁亥 month |
Times computed by our calendar code (UTC+8); they agree with an astronomical calculation to within about a minute. Between 1901 and 2100, Start of Winter always falls on November 6–8. Subtract 8 hours for UTC.
The three pentads of Start of Winter
| Sign of the season | When | |
|---|---|---|
| First pentad | Water begins to freeze (水始冰) | about days 1–5 after Start of Winter |
| Second pentad | The ground begins to freeze (地始凍) | about days 6–10 after Start of Winter |
| Third pentad | Pheasants enter the sea and become giant clams (雉入大水為蜃) | about days 11–15 after Start of Winter |
The ancients split each solar term into three pentads (hou 候) of about five days each, and marked them by changes in birds, animals and plants: seventy-two pentads a year. These follow the standard list in Wu Cheng's Yuan-dynasty Collected Explanations of the Seventy-Two Pentads. They were observed in the Yellow River basin, so they do not always match what you see in Taiwan, let alone elsewhere. Some, like hawks turning into doves, record old beliefs rather than biology.
Start of Winter in the sky: where the Sun is
The solar terms follow the Sun along the ecliptic: one term for every 15°, and Start of Winter is the moment the Sun reaches longitude 225°. In 2027, at Start of Winter the Sun sits against the stars of Libra (drowned out by daylight, of course).
What Start of Winter means in BaZi
Start of Winter is a jie (節, "node") term: from this moment the Hai month (亥) begins, the month that roughly matches the 10th lunar month, and the BaZi month pillar switches to a new pillar. The Hai month's element is Water, so for people born in it, Water is usually "in season" and strong in the chart.
BaZi months are not counted from the lunar new moon but from the jie terms: Start of Spring, Awakening of Insects, Pure Brightness, Start of Summer, Grain in Ear, Minor Heat, Start of Autumn, White Dew, Cold Dew, Start of Winter, Major Snow and Minor Cold each open a month. If you were born on the day of a jie term, within a few hours of it, your month pillar (and for the Start of Spring, your year pillar too) can shift by one; it depends on the exact time. See solar term boundaries, and for how the month's heavenly stem is worked out, the month pillar.
Customs
The idea behind bu dong is that winter has come and the body should be built up. A Taiwanese saying adds, half as a joke, that it also "fills the gap in your mouth."
Look up the solar terms for any year
Pick a year to list the exact time of all 24 solar terms (Taiwan time, UTC+8) and the month pillar each jie term starts. Add a month and day, such as a birthday, to see which solar-term period it falls in and its month pillar. Everything is calculated in your browser.
The times come from the same calendar code our BaZi charts use; for 1901–2100 they agree with an astronomical calculation to within about a minute. If you were born within minutes of a term changing, see solar term boundaries.
The terms before and after
The previous term is Frost's Descent; the next is Minor Snow.
A straight word: solar terms are astronomy; luck is something else
The twenty-four solar terms divide the year by the Sun's position on the ecliptic, and their times can be computed to the second. BaZi uses them to change the year and the month; that is a rule of calculation. A solar term carries no good or bad luck of its own, and no term is a "better" one to be born in: a chart is read as a whole, by its Five Elements and Ten Gods. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
Born in the Hai month? See your whole chart
The month branch is the most important pillar in BaZi: it sets how strong each of the Five Elements is. Enter your birth date for a free Four Pillars chart.
Start of Winter: common questions
What date is Start of Winter in 2026?
In 2026, Start of Winter falls on November 7 at 17:52 Taiwan time (UTC+8); in 2027 it is November 7 at 23:38.
Why does Start of Winter move from year to year?
A solar term is the moment the Sun reaches a set longitude, here 225°. A year is about 365.24 days, not a whole number, and leap years reset the count, so the date drifts within a few days. From 1901 to 2100, Start of Winter always falls on November 6–8.
What are the three pentads of Start of Winter?
First: Water begins to freeze (水始冰); second: The ground begins to freeze (地始凍); third: Pheasants enter the sea and become giant clams (雉入大水為蜃). They follow the standard Yuan-dynasty list.
What does Start of Winter do in a BaZi chart?
It is a jie term: from this moment BaZi switches to the Hai month and the month pillar changes.