Start of Spring (Lichun, 立春) opens the 24 solar terms at solar longitude 315°, around 3-5 February, and is marked by spring-welcoming customs.
Solar longitude
315°
Type
Sectional term (jie)
Season
Spring
Order
No. 1 of 24
Usual dates
Feb 3–4
Meaning and Astronomy
Lichun (立春) is the first of the 24 solar terms. It begins when the sun reaches ecliptic longitude 315°, usually between 3 and 5 February. Li means 'to establish' or 'to begin', so the name simply means the start of spring. Together with the starts of summer, autumn and winter it forms the 'four beginnings' (四立). Lichun is a jie (節) or sectional term and, with the following principal term Rain Water, belongs to the first lunar month; in the stem-branch calendar it marks the beginning of the year.
Because solar terms follow the sun, Lichun is nearly fixed on the Gregorian calendar but moves around on the lunar one. Some lunar years contain two Lichun days and some none; the latter is popularly called a 'year without spring', merely a by-product of the lunisolar calendar. Chinese astrology usually treats Lichun, not Lunar New Year, as the moment the zodiac animal changes.
The Three Pentads
First pentad: East winds melt the ice (東風解凍) - warming winds from the east begin to thaw frozen ground and rivers.
Second pentad: Hibernating insects begin to stir (蟄蟲始振) - creatures that wintered underground start to wake.
Third pentad: Fish rise, carrying ice (魚陟負冰) - fish swim up toward the surface, as if bearing the last fragments of ice on their backs.
Climate and Farming
Despite its name, Lichun is still cold in northern China, where late cold snaps are common. South of the Yangtze it begins to feel milder, though cold fronts can bring sudden drops. In Taiwan and Hong Kong it is effectively late winter, with damp, chilly monsoon weather; when warm and cold air alternate, Hong Kong may see muggy 'returning south' days (回南天).
On the farm this is the time to prepare for spring ploughing: repairing tools and spreading manure in the north, where winter wheat is watched for green-up, and preparing fields, selecting seed and pruning fruit trees in the south. Two familiar sayings are 'the year's plan is made in spring' (一年之計在於春) and 'spring strikes at the head of the sixth nine' (春打六九頭), meaning Lichun falls around the start of the sixth nine-day period counted from the winter solstice.
Customs
Lichun was once a major state occasion. The Book of Rites records that the Zhou king led his officials to the eastern outskirts to welcome spring. Later, local officials held the 'whipping the spring ox' ceremony, symbolically striking an ox made of clay or paper to urge timely ploughing - the origin of the colloquial name dachun, 'striking spring'. Ordinary households practised 'biting spring' (咬春): spring pancakes wrapped around vegetables or raw radish in the north, spring rolls in the south.
Taiwan keeps Lichun as Farmers' Day, and some localities hold offerings to Shennong, the legendary patron of agriculture. Some families 'receive spring' at the exact moment of the term, burning incense and posting the character for spring. In Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asian Chinese communities, many follow astrological tradition in treating Lichun as the turn of the year and make offerings to the Tai Sui year deity around this time.
Seasonal Food and Wellness
Traditional wellness thinking links spring with growth, encouraging earlier rising, time outdoors and an easy frame of mind. Because mornings remain cold, the saying 'bundle up in spring, bear the cool in autumn' (春捂秋凍) advises against shedding layers too early.
Seasonal eating favours fresh greens such as garlic chives, spring bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, spinach and shepherd's purse, with lighter meals after the rich food of the New Year. These are general customs, not medical advice.