Esoteric Calendar
Chinese & Taoist Calendar 2026
Traditional Chinese festivals, Taoist holy days, and the twenty-four solar terms.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Cyclical Rhythms
These cycles repeat throughout the year. Their dates shift with the moon and stars.
Browse by Tradition
The festival year and the twenty-four solar terms
The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, and its year carries two layers at once. The lunar months set the great festivals, from the New Year to the Mid-Autumn Festival, while a parallel solar scheme divides the year into twenty-four ‘solar terms’, short seasons like White Dew and Grain Rain that track the farming year with surprising precision.
Over this runs the Taoist and folk calendar of the gods’ birthdays. Almost every deity has a feast day: the Jade Emperor at the top of heaven, Mazu the goddess of the sea, and the immortals like Lü Dongbin. The Dragon Boat Festival and the hungry-ghost rites mark the turning points of the lunar year.
What this calendar holds
The entries braid the three strands of Chinese sacred time: the lunar festivals, the solar terms, and the long roster of birthdays for the Taoist and folk gods. Behind them is a single calendar that has counted both the moon and the sun together for more than two thousand years.