Birthday poem · January 3The first days of the New Year, in the Winter Solstice period.
Birth character
花 huā · flower
花 means a flower; the older form was 華.
花落知多少
“How many are the fallen flowers!” — Meng Haoran, ‘Spring Dawn’
The poem
“Spring Snow” 春雪
- 新年都未有芳華At the new year there were still no fragrant flowers;
- 二月初驚見草芽in the second month I'm surprised to see the first grass shoots.
- 白雪却嫌春色晚The white snow, finding spring's colours too late,
- 故穿庭樹作飛花flies through the courtyard trees as blossoms.
Why this poem
Han Yu on spring snow after New Year, falling through the trees like petals.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Winter Solstice. Near the first days of the New Year.