December 2026 almanac

December 1–31, 2026 runs from Month 10, day 23 to Month 11, day 23 of the Chinese year Bing-Wu. Solar terms this month: Major Snow, Winter Solstice. Select a date to open it in the calendar with the full almanac, lucky hours and moon phase.

Lunar dates

Month 10, day 23 – Month 11, day 23

Month pillar

Ji-Hai / Geng-Zi

Solar terms

Major Snow, Winter Solstice

Auspicious days

16 days

December: Major Snow, Winter Solstice and counting the nines

Major Snow falls around 6 to 8 December, when snowfall in the north increases and snow cover deepens. Winter Solstice, around 21 or 22 December, is when the sun stands over the Tropic of Capricorn, giving the Northern Hemisphere its shortest day and longest night; from then on days lengthen. Northern China is frozen, the Yangtze region damp and cold, and southern China and Hong Kong dry. In Taiwan the northeast monsoon keeps the north grey and wet, and strong cold fronts can push lowland temperatures below 10°C.

Winter Solstice has long been one of the most important days in Chinese communities, captured in the saying that it is 'bigger than New Year'. Taiwan and the Yangtze region eat tangyuan rice balls and offer them to ancestors, northern China eats dumplings, and in Hong Kong many employers let staff leave early for the family solstice dinner. The solstice also begins the 'counting the nines', nine periods of nine days, eighty-one in all. Christmas Day and the day after are public holidays in Hong Kong.

The solstice is traditionally seen as a good time for warming tonics, and southern households hang cured meats out to dry. An old Taiwanese custom was to stick rice balls on doors and household tools to thank them for a year's service. In some years the Laba Festival arrives in late December. Northern fields rest for winter while Taiwan harvests cabbage and radish. At year's end many people buy the new almanac to plan weddings, house moves and business openings for the coming year.

Solar terms and moon phases

Times are in UTC+8.

Festivals, deity birthdays and holidays

Key day spirits this month

Click a date for that day’s full list of spirits. Day spirits ›

Good days at a glance

Rated with this site’s simplified almanac rules; only days rated four stars or more are listed. To exclude days that clash with your zodiac sign, use the Pick a date tool on the home page.

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