“Chunbun” (春分), which literally means “the center of spring,” or the spring equinox, is the fourth of the twenty-four seasonal sub-divisions, or solar terms, of the lunar calendar. On “Chunbun,” day and night are of identical length, and the numbers of warm and cold hours are also equal. On this day, the sun passes through the equator from south to north, and reaches the vernal equinox point where the ecliptic and the equator cross each other, as the center of the sun is directly above the equator. When the positive force is due east and the negative force is due west, this is called “Chunbun”, or the vernal equinox.
The seven days before and after "Chunbun" are known as the "Paramita" (彼岸)," or "Pian" in Korean. In Buddhism the period is viewed as the ideal time for an easy passage into eternity. During Chubun, swallows fly in from the south, and thunder can be heard for the first time in the year. Along with the autumnal equinox, or "Chubun," the vernal equinox is the day when the sun sits directly above the equator. This phenomenon is related to the fact that "Chunbun" is also called "Jungchun" or "Jungyang." According to the ancient history book Goryeosa(History of the Koryŏ Dynasty), Book 84, Section 38, Regulations on Holidays for Government Officials (官吏給暇條), this day was given as a day-off for public officials. In the Gyeongju region, an ancestral rite was held at the graveyard (陵享) to commemorate the first Korean kings who had either Park (朴), Seok (昔) or Kim (金) as their last name. |
 An article in the "Chosun Ilbo" dated March 21, 1967 |
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| The Sahanje (司寒]祭) Rite Ceremony, the representative ritual of Chunbun, commemorates the cold in Sahandan (司寒壇) and the god of the north, Hyeonmyeongssi (玄冥氏). In December of the lunar calendar, a ceremony called "Jangbingje" (藏氷祭) is performed when ice is stored in the icehouse (氷庫), and a ceremony called "Gaebingje" (開氷祭) is performed when it is opened in Chunbun. The Sahanje Ceremony refers to this. According to the ancient record Yongjaechonghwa (慵齋叢話), Book 10, "The Sanhandan was located in Dongbinggo. When it is time to store ice, a ceremony is held to invoke cold weather." Furthermore, according to Hangyeongjiryak (漢京識略), Book 2 on "Icehouses" (氷庫), "Come December every year, the ceremonial master performs a ceremony for the god Hyeonmyeongssi before scooping ice from the Han river … On Chunbun, the master holds the Gaebingje Ceremony before handing out the ice." |
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| The Sahanje Ceremony | Gwanse during the Sahanje Ceremony | Choheon during the Sahanje Ceremony |
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| Aheon at the Sahanje Ceremony | Jongheon at the Sahanje Ceremony | Eumbok at the Sahanje Ceremony |
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On "Chunbun," the weather was observed in order to predict the harvest and the likelihood of drought during the coming year. According to the ancient record on natural history, Jeungbosanllimgyeongje (增補山林經濟), Book 15, Jeungbosasichanyo (增補四時纂要), or Systems and Cultures: "When it rains on Chunbun there will be less disease and sickness during the coming year. This day is at its best when the sun is dark. If the sunrise is accompanied by bluish clouds due east, it augers a good barley harvest in the coming year, but if the sky is clear and without any clouds, it augurs much sickness and febrility. The fortune for the coming year was told by observing the appearance of the clouds on this day. For example, if the sky was blue, then damages would be caused by a plague of insects, whereas red clouds would bring drought, black clouds floods, and yellow clouds a year of good harvests. Also, if the wind blew from the east, the price of barley would drop as the year would see an abundance of barley, but if the wind blew from west, barley would be scarce. If the wind blew from the south, there would be water aplenty before May but it would dry up thereafter. Finally, if the wind blew from the north, rice would be scarce. |
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