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The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms (節氣).

[edit] The tenth

Xiàzhì (pīnyīn) or Geshi (rōmaji) (Chinese and Japanese: 夏至; Korean: 하지; Vietnamese: Hạ chí; literally: "summer's extreme") is the 10^th solar term, and marks the summer solstice. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 90° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 105°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 90°.

[edit] Western Correlation

In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around June 21 and ends around July 7.

[edit] The Solstices

The solstices (as well as the equinoxes) mark the middle of the seasons in East Asian calendars. Here, the Chinese character 至 means "extreme", so the term for the summer solstice directly signifies the summit of summer, a linkage absent in Western languages.

[edit] See also

• Midsummer