Week 46 – The Earth First Freezes

November 13 – November 19 is the 46th week of the Gregorian calendar.  During this week, we are in the Solar Term of First Winter and have entered into the micro-season of “The Earth First Freezes” (Nov. 13 – Nov 17). 

The haiku selected for this week were written by Basho, Issa, Kaga no Chiyo, Jorge Luis Borges, Reichhold, and Kerouac.

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The 24 Solar Terms – First Winter

The 24 solar terms were created by farmers in ancient China (206 BCE and 24 CE) to help guide their agricultural activities. Each solar term is 15 days long and is based on the climate around the city Xi’an, which was the capital of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE). ⁽²⁾

First Winter (Nov 08 – Nov 22) is the 19th Solar Term of the year, and it is the first of the winter solar terms. An alternative translation of this season is Start of Winter.⁽³⁾

At this time of year, all the crops should be harvested and stored for the cold months.  Some activities that are associated with this season include:

Eating dumplings: There is a legend that says near the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (CE 25-220), Zhang Zhongjing protected the people of the Henan province from a typhoid epidemic and frostbite by making them mutton, hot pepper, and herb dumplings.  The dumplings are said to increase the body’s temperature and protect from the cold.⁽³⁾ 

Eating Chinese pumpkins:  These pumpkins are also called wogua and are common in Northern China.  The pumpkins are harvested in summer and then eaten during this season.⁽³⁾

Sacrifices to the Ancestors: This tradition seems specific to the “people of the Manchu Eight Banners and Han Eight Banners in Benxi of Liaoning province.”⁽³⁾ The sacrifices to the ancestors include lighting incense and making offerings.

The 72 Seasons

The 72-season calendar was established in 1685 by Japanese astronomer Shibukawa Shunkai.  Each season lasts for about 5 days and offers “a poetic journey through the Japanese year in which the land awakens and blooms with life and activity before returning to slumber.”⁽⁵⁾

This week’s micro-season is “The Earth First Freezes” (Nov 13 – Nov 17). During this season, we notice that the overnight temperatures are dropping and there might be white frost, or frozen dew, covering the ground in the morning.

About Frost

While white frost and frozen dew may sound like the same thing, they are different.

White frost, hoar frost, or depositional frost is created through a process called “deposition”.  Deposition is “when atmospheric moisture directly crystallized on the ground and on exposed objects.”⁽⁵⁾ In other words, depositional frost is when the atmosphere is cold enough for water vapor to transition directly to ice, skipping the liquid stage. The National Weather Service (NWS) further describes depositional frost as forming “ice crystal patterns (treelike branching pattern),”⁽⁶⁾ and if it is “thick enough, it resembles a light snowfall.”⁽⁶⁾

Frozen dew is slightly different because it is created by the freezing of water in its liquid form instead of its gas form.  This happens when the atmosphere cools gradually and the water vapor is able to transition to liquid (dew) first before it freezes.  Frozen dew also looks different from white frost. The NWS states, “Frozen dew does not have the crystal patterns of white frost. White frost tends to look whiter while frozen dew tends to look slicker and more difficult to see.”⁽⁶⁾

If you want to read more about the different types of frost, check out last year’s post: Major Snow. 

Astronomical Season

November 19, the last day of week 46 of the Gregorian calendar, is 57 days past the autumn equinox (Sept 23, 2023) and 32 days until the winter solstice (December 21, 2023). This means we are now closer to the winter solstice than the autumn equinox and puts us in the winter season of both the Solar Terms and 72-season calendars.  

November 13 – A New Moon

A new moon is when the moon is directly between the Earth and the sun.  This puts the moon’s shadowed side pointing toward the earth making it difficult to see. This month’s new moon occurred on Monday, November 13.

In astronomy, the new moon represents a time for new beginnings and changes.  Nina Kahn, an astronomy columnist for Bustle.com, tells us that November’s new moon, “takes place in the deep and emotional sign of Scorpio — so the spiritual meaning of this new moon is all about facing the darkness of our shadow sides and embracing our inner truth.”⁽⁶⁾ You can read more about Nina Kahn’s guidance for the new moon here. 

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Seasonal Haiku 

In The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words as selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, “winter moon” and “frost” are potential kigo for this week. 

In Jane Reichhold’s A Dictionary of Haiku , if we look under the heading of Winter and the category “Celestial” we will also find “moon” and “frost” as potential kigo.  It should be noted that Dr. Gabi Greves writes in the World Kigo Database, “The word “moon” without further connotation, refers to the autumn moon in Japanese haiku”.  So, if we follow the traditional rules, we need to add a winter reference along with “moon” to create a winter kigo.

Now with all this in mind, let’s read some haiku.

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Basho

see its slim shape
it is still not developed
the new moon this night 
(translated by Jane Reichhold)

arrowroot leaves
with their face exposed: 
morning frost. 
(translated by David Landis Barnhill)

Issa

on the morning frost
the blacksmith's sparks
spurting
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

waking up
with a sneeze...
frost on the grass 
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

adding to
my solitude...
frost on the window 
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Kaga no Chiyo

leaves like bird shadows
desolate –
the winter moon
(translated by Patricia Donegan and Yoshie Ishibashi)

Jorge Luis Borges

that timeless form:
the new moon
in space

Reichhold

mountain top
aglow with the unseen
moon

time
on a moonless night
a dog barking

Kerouac

The new moon
  is the toe nail
Of God

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Haiku Invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu that references the new moon or a moonless night. 

Share your haiku in the comments below, or post on your own page and link back to this post. I can’t wait to read what you write! 

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Thank You!

About the Haiku

Basho’s haiku were retrieved from “Matsuo Bashō’s haiku poems in romanized Japanese with English translations” Editor: Gábor Terebess.  Issa’s haiku were retrieved from David G. Lanoue’s Haiku Guy.  Jane Reichhold’s haiku were retrieved from the Dictionary of Haiku. Jack Kerouac’s haiku were retrieved from Book of Haikus.  Kaga no Chiyo’s haiku was retrieved from The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology edited by Faubion Bowers. Jorge Luis Borges haiku was retrieved from Haiku Enlightenment by Gabriel Rosenstock

References

1. “ISO 8601”; Wikipedia
2. “24 Solar Terms”; ChinaHighlights.com
3. “24 Solar Terms: 8 things you may not know about Start of Winter”; ChinaDaily.com
4. “Japan’s 72 Microseasons”; Nippon.com
5. “Frost: Freezing Temperatures, Sublimation & Effects on Plants”; Britannica.com
6. Haby, Jeff. “The Forecasting of Frost”. The National Weather Service
7. Kahn, Nina. “Here’s The Spiritual Meaning Of November’s New Moon”. Bustle.com