Winter Solstice
(Part2)

          
            The close relation between the numbernineand the Winter Solstice is also 
     based on the theory of  Yin and Yang.  The ancient Chinese  believed the theory 
     could explain all phenomena in the universe . Numbers play a significant role 
     in the theory. Even numbers belong to Yin and odd numbers to Yang. Nine is the 
     largest Yang number and represents infinity and extremity. For a festival like
     this, when Yang begins to take root and gain ground, the greatest Yang number-
     nineshould certainly play a part. The day of the Winter Solstice is the beginn-
     ing of the first nineday period. There are altogether nine nine-day periods, 
     making a total of 81 days. The weather should improve a bit everynine days,and
     at the end of the ninth period, spring comes.
    
            Based  on practical  experience and probably to speed things up a bit ,
     people have created cold  dispellingsongs. Here is the  translation of one of 
     these songs.

     The first and second“nine day”sare so cold 
     The we dare not hold out our hands,
     Stray cats and dogs freeze to death
     During the third and fourth“nine days”,
     The fifth and sixth nine dayssee a thin veil of green
     On the far bank of the river,
     The rivers thaw during the seventh“nine days”,
     The dighth“nine days”welcome the wild geese back,
     Winter finally draws to an end in the last “nine days”,
     When bright blossoms and flowers smile in warm spring.

            People also invented all kinds of entertainment to help pass the time 
     during the long cold days, when the earth was asleep and there was no work to 
     be done in the fields. One is painting to dispel the cold. Before the Winter 
     Solstice, people hang on the wall an unfinished painting, which contains a 
     plum tree with 81 flowers. They have not been colored in. Starting on the day 
     of the Winter Solstice,one flower is painted red every day. At the end of the 
     ninthnine days,81 cheerful red blossoms brighten the room,welcoming the birds
     and bursting buds of spring's return.
    
            Another custom uses a piece of paper with 81 squares drawn on it. Just 
     like the  plum blossoms, one square is filled in every day. If it is cloudy, 
     the upper half of the square is filled in;if it is clear, the lower half. A 
     windy day is marked on the left half, and a rainy day on the right half. What 
     if it snows? Well, there will be a small circle decorating the center of the 
     square.When the squares are all filled,spring has arrived and one has a weather
     report of the past 81 days.In many families,the kids draw the 81 squares and 
     then have fun rilling them in.They can use different colored paints or crayons,
     end with a bit of luck,and up with a cheerful piece of abstract art.It is good 
     for their arithmetic and stimulates their interest in climatology. And being 
     rationed to one square a day teaches them patience. It might even keep them out
     of mischief for a few minutes!