From 19 to 23 September Japan runs into a five-day break, and the next named typhoon is already on its way; around the same period, weather systems in the Taiwan region, Korea, Spain, Brazil and Mexico all made the trending lists. As for the almanac's "suitable for travel" and "avoid travel", what exactly is it avoiding? It and a weather forecast are really two different systems of cause and effect.
A new Turkish series, Salty Coffee, climbed onto the search list within two weeks of its premiere. In Turkey, though, coffee was never only a drink — in 2013 “Turkish coffee culture and tradition” joined the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, and reading coffee grounds is one of its related practices.
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman’s Practical Magic sequel opened at number one in North America, ending Spider-Man’s run at the top. What is striking is that Western interest in witches comes back in waves every few decades.
3 October is Gaecheonjeol in Korea, literally “the day the sky opened”. It commemorates the legendary founding of Gojoseon by Dangun, and it is the Korean national day that grew out of a rite of heaven worship.
A Japanese supermarket puts up a “Higan” shelf, Koreans rush to clear the grass from family graves before Chuseok, and Chinese families start choosing mooncakes. Three unrelated scenes, and one autumn timetable shared across East Asia.
In 2026 the seventh lunar month is a short one — just 29 days, with no thirtieth day — so in the Taiwan region the ghost gate closes early, late on 10 September. One small difference in the calendar pulls on a whole order of ghost month, the Zhongyuan rite and the Pudu offerings.
Marriage talk is hot in Korea again: the dating show “I Am Solo” has produced 17 married couples so far, and “remarriage” is on the search list. In traditional Korean matchmaking, there was one procedure no couple could skip — gunghap.
Three Sengoku warlords — Niwa Nagahide, Oda Nobukatsu and Toyotomi Hidetsugu — appeared on Japan’s trending list on the same day. All three changed their names several times over: some rose with every change, one ended up trading a title for a death sentence.
Spanish-speaking countries fear Tuesday the 13th, Britain and America fear Friday the 13th, and Chinese families consult the almanac for “suitable and unsuitable”. The same instinct — “not today” — lands on three different squares in three cultures.
“Fortune” is on Korea’s search list today, and the big dailies run a twelve-animal reading every day, complete with a line of lucky numbers. Korea’s “tti” and the Chinese zodiac are the same set of earthly branches.
Brazil’s jackpot has rolled over to 95 million reais, and Korea’s 1,241st draw produced 18 first-prize winners. Why do so many players pick numbers between 1 and 31? Researchers have a name for it.
On 22 September this year, Japan gets a day off out of nowhere: by law, a day sandwiched between two public holidays automatically becomes a holiday. In the very same week, China, Korea and the Taiwan region of China all mark the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. One “free” day off leads to the calendar East Asia shares.
