Radical 02-1旦 dàn "dawn"

Radical 02-1旦  dàn "dawn"
“The darkest moment of the day is always just before dawn. When we see dawn’s first light we know a new day is beginning.”

The sun has just risen above the horizon, a new day is dawning. Have you ever noticed the black spot that appears under the sun at dawn? What can it possibly mean?

 The earth spins on its axis and the world is split into zones where it is either day or night. There is a distinct border between light and shade. The darkest moment of the day is always just before dawn. The new day is born as soon as we see the first light of dawn.”

The first of January in the Gregorian calendar is called 元旦 yuándàn, which indicates the rising sun, coming up over the horizon on the first new day of the year. It is a time for throwing away the old and welcoming in the new.

The Chinese proverb人有旦夕禍福 dàn xī huò fú “ good or bad luck“ means that luck is fickle and men are never ready for unexpected changes of fortune. However, bad luck is also consistent; it varies continually with the spinning of the Earth. Light and shade chase each other and sometimes overlap, creating dawn and dusk.

At any one time on the Earth, someone is experiencing a dawn and someone a dusk. At any one time on the Earth, someone is watching the sun come up. Dawn and dusk are strong symbols of birth and death, of the corridors between different worlds.

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese
Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry