An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A → lunisolar calendar used now in Vietnam mainly for determining seasonal holidays and cultural events. It is in fact the → Chinese calendar computed for Hanoi. It has 12 months of 29 or 30 days each (→ synodic month) and the year totals 355 days. The → lunar year is therefore 11 days shorter than its solar counterpart. To keep up with the solar pace, every 19 years seven extra months are added to the calendar.
In practice, approximately every third year an → embolismic month is included. The New Year, called Tet, begins at the second → new moon after the → winter solstice. The Vietnamese calendar has some minor differences with the Chinese calendar. For example, it uses the cat and buffalo instead of the Chinese rabbit and cow respectively in the → zodiac.

See also: From Vietnam “Viets of the South,” from Viet the people’s name + nam “south;” → lunar; → calendar.