Birthday poem · December 25Christmas Day, in the Winter Solstice period.
Birth character
月 yuè · moon
月 is a picture of a crescent moon.
舉頭望明月
“Looking up, I find the moon bright” — Li Bai, ‘Quiet Night Thoughts’
The poem
“Winter Night” 寒夜
- 寒夜客來茶當酒On a cold night a guest arrives; tea serves as wine;
- 竹爐湯沸火初紅the bamboo stove's water boils, the fire just turning red.
- 尋常一樣窗前月The same old moon at the window as always —
- 纔有梅花便不同but with plum blossoms, it is not the same.
Why this poem
Du Lei serves tea instead of wine on a winter night; plum blossom changes the window.
This day in the Chinese calendar
Solar term: Winter Solstice. Near Christmas Day.