How the ancients spent the summer solstice: the emperor held a sacrifice to the land and Song officials had a three-day holiday.

Introduction: In the twenty-four solar terms, "summer solstice" is a more important time node, reminding people of the arrival of the hottest moment of the year. In the long-term spread, many unique customs have been formed.

Gao Wei, secretary-general of the Beijing Folklore Society, said in an interview that the "Summer Solstice" was once an important folk festival, as lively as the Dragon Boat Festival. On that day, the emperor will also hold a ceremony to worship the land and pray for a bumper harvest. "It's just that with the appearance of the Dragon Boat Festival, many customs have been moved."

As lively as the Dragon Boat Festival: the emperor held a ceremony to worship the land.

Summer solstice is one of the earliest solar terms among the 24 solar terms. In the 7th century BC, the sun shadow was measured by civil soil gauge, and it was found that the day was the longest and the night was the shortest, and finally the summer solstice was determined. Later, the vernal equinox and autumnal equinox with equal length of day and night were discovered, and on this basis, the twenty-four solar terms were established. Like the winter solstice, the summer solstice is an important folk festival in China, which was also called "Summer Festival" and "Summer Solstice Festival" in ancient times. Gao Wei said that in some parts of China, the Summer Solstice Festival is as lively as the Dragon Boat Festival.

In the ancient summer solstice, people prayed for disaster and prosperity by offering sacrifices to God. "Zhou Li" has a cloud that "summer shows ghosts to destroy the fierce famine of the country and the funeral of the people"; Sima Qian's "Historical Records" and "Closed Sutra Zen" also recorded: "On the summer solstice, music and dance worshipped the land." Gao Wei introduced that the summer solstice reminds people that the hottest time of the year is coming and the temperature reaches its peak. At the same time, it also means that Yin Qi will begin to rise gradually. The ancients did hold a grand ceremony of offering sacrifices and praying on the solstice of summer, and the emperor also held a ceremony of "offering sacrifices to the land" to pray for a good year.

The emperor has the attention of the emperor, and the people also have folk customs. Gao Wei said that on this day, many places in the south will call people "fat and thin". "Long summer also has this custom, but it is mostly ceremonial and symbolic. Because the folks have always said that' bitter summer' loses meat, this ceremony will be held on the day of summer solstice to officially record the weight and remind people whether they should take supplements after the arrival of autumn. "

Food customs are particular: Beijing eats cold noodles, and Song officials have a three-day holiday.

The solstice in summer means the arrival of hot weather, that is, the "dog days" officially begins, and people also have a lot to pay attention to when eating. According to public information, Wuxi people eat porridge in the morning and wonton at noon, which means chaos and harmony. There is a proverb: "Summer solstice wonton winter solstice reunion, four seasons Ankang people reunion." After eating wonton, I weigh the child, hoping that the child will gain weight and be healthy.

"Eating millet on the solstice in summer and zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival" is an ancient dietary custom. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" records that every year when millet appears in the early May of the lunar calendar, the son of heaven will hold a ceremony to taste millet on the summer solstice. There is also a poem in the Book of Songs called "a year's millet is much". Eating corn together is considered to be a sign of celebrating a year's harvest. Gao Wei said that Beijing's cold noodles will be eaten on the solstice in summer, because new noodles are on the market at this time. This move has both the meaning of "first taste" and the meaning of using cold food to reduce fire and stimulate appetite. "In rural areas, you may eat pancakes, with vegetables and other things, eat them after worshipping your ancestors or give them to relatives and friends."

In addition to all kinds of seasonal snacks, Gao Wei said half jokingly that there was a "welfare" in ancient summer solstice, that is, before the Qing Dynasty, there were national festivals from summer solstice, and people got together with their relatives to drink; In the Song Dynasty, officials were given a three-day holiday, which also reflected people's attention to the summer solstice.

"However, with the appearance of the Dragon Boat Festival, many customs of' summer solstice' have been moved to the Dragon Boat Festival. For example, during the summer solstice, Liao women exchange fans and sachets. This custom lasted for a long time, but it doesn't exist now. " Gao Wei said.