when do eclipses occur
Seven eclipses occur in a minimum of 12 lunar months (about 354.37 days). Given that the calendar year is only about eleven days longer than 12 lunar months, the first of the seven eclipses has to come in early January for the seventh eclipse to occur before the end of the year.
Eclipses occur due to the special coincidence of the moon and the Sun being the same angular size. The Sun is 400 times wider than the moon, but it is also 400 times farther away, so they coincidentally appear to be the same size in our sky. This is what allows us the phenomenal beauty of the total solar eclipse.