Choosing the Starting Point of the New Year

1. Solar Calendar (Gregorian Calendar) Standard

Definition: The solar calendar is a calendar system based on the Earth's revolution around the Sun (tropical year), with a year lasting approximately 365.2422 days. The Gregorian calendar is the internationally adopted solar calendar.
New Year's Starting Point: The Gregorian calendar designates January 1st as the beginning of the year. This is a fixed date with no direct astronomical correspondence to seasonal changes, but it facilitates calendar arrangement and social uniformity.
Logical Consistency: From a Gregorian calendar perspective, January 1st marks the beginning of the new calendar year, and all official global affairs, international interactions, and business activities are based on this date. Therefore, January 1st on the solar calendar is considered the new year.

Definition: The lunar calendar is a lunisolar calendar, based on the synodic month (approximately 29.53 days), with leap months used to reconcile it with the tropical year. The lunar year reflects the phases of the moon while also taking seasons into account.
New Year Start: The first day of the first lunar month (Spring Festival) marks the beginning of the new year. Its date fluctuates between late January and February on the Gregorian calendar, usually around the beginning of spring (Lichun).
Logical Consistency: From the lunar calendar perspective, the first day of the first lunar month is the traditional "New Year" for bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new, closely related to folk customs and festivals. Therefore, the first day of the first lunar month is considered the start of the new year.

Definition: The twenty-four solar terms are a purely solar calendar, divided according to the sun's position on the ecliptic. The Ganzhi calendar takes "Lichun" (Start of Spring) as the beginning of the year, used for recording years, months, etc.
New Year's Starting Point: Lichun (February 3-5 in the Gregorian calendar) is the first of the twenty-four solar terms, symbolizing the beginning of spring. In traditional Ganzhi year counting and zodiac animal changes, Lichun is the transition point.
Logical Consistency: From the perspective of the solar terms/Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches calendar, Lichun (Start of Spring) marks the beginning of the new year in an astronomical sense, especially for fields like fortune-telling and divination. Therefore, Lichun is considered the start of the new year.

Three Coexist Without Conflict: The three standards each serve different domains and are logically consistent within their respective systems.
Modern Common Choice: In daily social life, January 1st of the Gregorian calendar is the mainstream New Year.
Traditional Folk Choice: When celebrating the Spring Festival, the first day of the lunar calendar is New Year's Day.
Specialized Field Choice: When involving solar terms and numerology, Lichun (Start of Spring) is considered the New Year. This is primarily used by our analysis and decision-making systems.