The Setsubun

julia00

Feb. 4, 2021

節分と言えば、2月3日。

The Setsubun Festival is held on February 3rd.

しかし今年は2月2日が節分です。

However, it's held on February 2nd this year.

今年は1897（明治30）年以来124年ぶりに2月2日になる大変珍しい年です。

This year is a very rare year, because it's been 124 years since that's the event the last time.

日にちがずれる理由は、地球が太陽を1周する時間は365日ぴったりではなく、6時間弱長いらしいです。

The reason for this is, the earth doesn't move perfectly around the sun, in 365 days.

Actually it seems that there is a difference of about 6 hours.

そのため、毎年少しずつ地球の位置がずれていき、立春も2月4日になったり3日になったりするらしいです。

Therefore, every year the Earth's position shifts slightly. This results in the change of spring day from the 3rd to the 2nd of February for the year of 2021.

太陽の位置は4年で24時間ほどずれるので、うるう年として2月29日を作って解消しているみたいです。

The sun's position shifts about 24 hours in 4 years but a leap year solves this problem.

一方、過去には「節分」が後ろにずれたこともあるようです。1984年には、「立春」が2月5日となったため、例年より１日遅くなったということです。

On the other hand, in the past, "Setsubun" seems to have shifted backwards. In 1984, "the first day of spring" was February 5, which means that it was one day later than usual.

en 1

Correct

Corrections

Frank

The Setsubun

節分と言えば、2月3日。

The Setsubun Festival is (usually) held on February 3rd.

This connects better with your next sentence.

しかし今年は2月2日が節分です。

However, it's held on February 2nd this year.

今年は1897（明治30）年以来124年ぶりに2月2日になる大変珍しい年です。

This year is a very rare year, because it's been 124 years since th~~at's the event the last time~~e last time it's been on February 2nd.

日にちがずれる理由は、地球が太陽を1周する時間は365日ぴったりではなく、6時間弱長いらしいです。

The reason for this is, the earth doesn't move perfectly around the sun, in 365 days.

Actually it seems that there is a difference of about 6 hours.

そのため、毎年少しずつ地球の位置がずれていき、立春も2月4日になったり3日になったりするらしいです。

Therefore, every year the Earth's position shifts slightly.

This results in ~~the change of~~ spring day changing from the 3rd to the 2nd of February for the year of 2021.

The sun's position shifts about 24 hours in 4 years but a leap year solves this problem.

一方、過去には「節分」が後ろにずれたこともあるようです。1984年には、「立春」が2月5日となったため、例年より１日遅くなったということです。

On the other hand, in the past, "Setsubun" seems to have shifted backwards.

In 1984, "the first day of spring" was February 5, which means that it was one day later than usual.

Feedback

Great entry! It's very interesting how the date of Setsubun actually shifts around.
If you have any questions with the corrections, feel free to ask!

julia00

Feb. 4, 2021

Thank you for the correction.

The Setsubun