[Cryptography] Holiday-themed decode contest

[Peter Gutmann]

Brad Klee <bradklee at gmail.com> writes:

>A friend of mine from China sent me a calendar with hexagrams and solar
>terms, so that I could have more fun studying foreign languages and graphic
>design.

To western eyes, traditional Chinese tear-off calendars are already enough of
a cryptogram.  Compare the complexity in the sample images below to the usual
plain date (so day, month, year) + weekday you'd get on a non-Chinese
calendar.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71uPJmf0QYS._AC_SL1500_.jpg
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71smpYHgNHL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71AW8SI4dNL._AC_SX679_.jpg

It's packed with info about the seasons, the elements, the Chinese zodiac,
festivals, lucky days and hours for weddings, travel, moving house, ... I've
never figured out how they get some of the stuff on there, I mean why is today
"an auspicious day to dig a ditch"?

(Somewhat off-topic, apart from the fact that the density of information would
make it a great subliminal channel).

Peter.