Understanding the Heavenly Calendar

Here is a brief explanation of the lunar calendar as is concerns the new heavenly calendar. To have a more in-depth understanding of the lunar calendar read last year’s UC magazine installment of Blind Men & the Elephant: Faith Perspectives: How to Ring in 2013.

While the rest of the Western world celebrated New Years Day with fireworks and celebrations almost a month ago, those following the lunar calendar, such as China, and many countries in the East, will ring in the New Year on Friday.

Since 1968, Unificationists have celebrated their Holy Day, True God’s Day—or True Heavenly Parents’ Day—on the first day of the New Year based on the solar calendar, however, in 2011, for the first time, Unificationists around the world celebrated this Holy Day based on the lunar calendar, or the Korean Cheon-gi, that is, the “heavenly calendar.” This year, True Heavenly Parent Day will be held on January 31, 2014 by the solar Calendar.

For Unificationists, the celebration is a deeply meaningful and spiritual celebration. On the stroke of midnight, heads will bow in prayer as Unificationists all around the world offer the first words and their first moments of the New Year, up to our Heavenly Parent. The offering tables will be bountiful with fruit and candy, and members will make determinations for the year ahead, surrounded by friends and family. These traditions, no matter the date, remain the same. Honoring our traditions is a moment to pause, in the midst of our hurried lives, to connect to our roots and to the invisible world of our Heavenly Parent.

So what is the significance of this new “heavenly calendar”? How do we relate to it on a day-to-day basis, especially if most of the world follows a different one?

Though it may feel finite to us in this moment, the way in which we as humans mark the passage of time has actually evolved and changed over centuries. Different cultures and religions have developed and followed their own calendars. The Mayan, Chinese, Muslims, and Hindus are examples of cultures and faiths that observe the lunar calendar. Judaism, too, has a lunar-based calendar, the first day of which is believed to be the day Adam and Eve were created. Even Christians, who in Western cultures use the solar calendar, celebrate Easter each year based on the lunar cycle.

The lunar calendar brings a deeper meaning symbolically. Marking the passage of time by milestones of the moon’s “life” in the sky, preserves the various meanings that the moon holds spiritually. The different phases of the moon—from new to full, and back to new again—signify a cleansing and rebirth. We can further appreciate the more feminine aspect of this heavenly body, in contrast to the masculine sun. Because the woman’s womb aligns with the moon’s cycle, a lunar view seems to truly represent rebirth and the feminine aspect of our Heavenly Parent.

For us as Unificationists, the conversion to the “heavenly calendar” is one that has less to do with how we measure dates, and more with the spiritual significance of entering a new age. The fact that we are now living in the third year of Cheon il Guk (God’s Heavenly Kingdom) according to the new heavenly calendar, means that the world has entered a new age spiritually. We reside in a time of great blessing, where new things are possible. The “heavenly calendar” is not just a different way to measure dates, but it is a way to signify the movement of our Heavenly Parent’s providence.

As we enter this new year, may the blessings of our Heavenly Parent be with you.