# Count down to a date, or count the days since > How the Days tab in LiLi Cal handles countdowns, birthdays, anniversaries, elapsed-day streaks, and date ranges — including yearly repeats on the Chinese lunar calendar. - Updated: July 26, 2026 - Reading time: 6 min read - Audience: Users who track birthdays, anniversaries, deadlines, or streaks and want the count kept up to date. ## Summary The Days tab is a separate list for dates you keep counting: a birthday, an anniversary, a deadline, a streak, or a range with a progress bar. You pick one of five types, set the date, and LiLi Cal keeps the number current in the panel, on the calendar, and in a desktop widget. ## Key takeaways - Five types — Countdown, Birthday, Anniversary, Elapsed, Range — set the counting direction for you. - A yearly repeat can follow the Gregorian or the Chinese lunar calendar, resolved again each year. - Entries appear in the Days tab, on the month grid, in reminders, and in a widget in three sizes. ### Pick what kind of day it is Rather than asking which direction to count, LiLi Cal asks what the entry is. Countdown is for a flight, an exam, or a visa expiry. Birthday counts the age and the days until the next one. Anniversary counts the Nth year. Elapsed counts upwards, for streaks like days since you quit. Range covers a stretch of time and draws a progress bar. The type sets the direction, the wording, and the defaults. - Countdown, Birthday, Anniversary, Elapsed, and Range. - Each type limits the date picker so a birthday cannot land in the future. - A live preview shows the resulting text before you save. ### Repeats, including the lunar calendar An entry can be one-off or repeat every year. A yearly repeat can follow the Gregorian calendar or the Chinese lunar calendar. Lunar dates drift across the Gregorian year, so LiLi Cal resolves the date again for each year rather than pinning it to one Gregorian day — which is what a yearly repeat in the system Calendar would do. You can also choose how leap months are handled. - Once, yearly on the Gregorian calendar, or yearly on the lunar calendar. - Leap-month policy: regular month, prefer the leap month, or leap years only. - Reminders follow the date that was recalculated for the year. ### Where the days show up Entries are grouped as pinned, overdue, today, upcoming, and elapsed, so the next thing is always near the top. Beyond the Days tab, an entry marks the month grid and the selected-day detail, and the LiLi Countdown widget puts the numbers on your desktop in three sizes — one big number, or a list with progress bars for ranges. Clicking a widget row opens that entry in the app. - Grouped automatically; pinned entries stay on top. - Several reminders per entry: N days before, or on the day. - Days are stored inside LiLi Cal, so your system Calendar stays uncluttered. ## FAQ ### Do days show up in the system Calendar app? No. Days are stored in LiLi Cal on your Mac rather than written into your system Calendar, so dozens of anniversaries never clutter your agenda. They still appear on the LiLi Cal month grid and in its notifications. ### Can it handle a lunar birthday? Yes. Set the anchor date on the Chinese lunar calendar and choose a yearly repeat. LiLi Cal resolves the Gregorian date again every year and moves the reminder with it. --- Canonical page: https://cal.kopit.app/docs/countdowns-and-anniversaries This Markdown version is provided for AI agents and LLM tools.