Old Chinese Month Names
You might have noticed an interesting word in yesterday’s translation post:
現是臘月天氣，夜又長，朔風凜凜，侵肌裂骨，一夜幾乎不曾凍死。
It was the twelfth month of the year, complete with long nights and a bitter north wind that would gnaw at your bones. Jia Rui nearly froze to death before the night was through.
So what does 臘月 mean, and why does it refer to the twelfth month of the lunar year?
