"Hua! Hua! Hua!..."
Eighteen bronze fire basins ignited simultaneously at the top of the Temple of Heaven pyramid. This is an important auspicious number in the ritual, symbolizing the 18 months in the traditional Sun Calendar. In the Sun Calendar, each month consists of 20 days, with an additional 5 or 6 unlucky days, making a full year.
The divine symbolism of the eighteen months, from the beginning to the end of the year, are respectively: January "Water's Stillness," February "Human Skin Sacrifice," March "Little Vigil," April "Great Vigil," May "Drought of the Sun," June "Eating Corn Porridge," July "Little Lord Sacrifice," August "Great Lord Sacrifice," September "Ceremony of Flowers," October "Fruit's Fall," November "Sweeping of Dust," December "Descent of Gods," Thirteen Month "Mountain Sacrifice," Fourteen Month "Flamingo," Fifteen Month "Raising of the Flag," Sixteen Month "Descent of Water," Seventeen Month "The End," Eighteen Month "Revival."
