Dividend dates
Every company differs in when they give out their dividend. Dividends are almost always given out quarterly for American companies however. Companies based in Europe and China like to give out dividends annually or semi annually.
Usually you have to own a company that gives out dividends on a certain date prior to the dividend payout. I.E. If a company is giving out a dividend on the 15th of February you have to have owned the stock on the 15th of January. This cuts down on fraud and investors that just buy into the company to get one dividend payout and then quickly sell.
The particular date that a company pays out its dividend does not matter too much in the grand scheme of things. You just want to be sure that you are investing in a company that gives its dividends out routinely every quarter, a company that has a great track record of recording positive earnings and dividends, and a company that increases its dividends regularly.
It is not hard to find a few solid companies at pretty attractive prices. It is hard to stay patient and disciplined long enough to make investing in the stock market worth your while.