Twenty-four solar terms and light summer heat

1, Xiaoxia is the 11th solar term among the 24 solar terms of the lunar calendar and the fifth solar term in summer, which marks the official start of the last month of summer. On July 7th or 8th every year, when the sun reaches longitude 105, it is considered as a slight summer heat. [4] Summer heat means heat, and light summer heat means light heat, which means the weather is hot, but it is not the hottest time yet. This climate is basically the same in most parts of China.

There was a custom of "eating new things" in the past summer. "Fresh food" means grinding new dozen rice and wheat into powder, making all kinds of cakes and noodles, which are shared by neighbors and villagers to express their desire for a bumper harvest. At the same time, these new goods should also prepare a sacrifice for their ancestors, and please bless the good weather.

3. After the slight summer heat, the head heat wave of "dog days" hit. Northerners are used to drinking porridge in summer, mainly for clearing away heat and heatstroke and regulating the stomach. Fried mung bean sprouts have become the first choice for side dishes. There is also the custom of "eating lotus root in summer" in many places, because lotus root has an appetizing effect and is suitable for eating in summer. Su Dongpo, a poet, called watermelon "ice slurry fairy liquid", which can clear the heart after eating it.

Although light summer is not the hottest season in a year, it is followed by the hottest summer in a year. There is a folk saying that "it is hot in summer, boiling in midsummer", and the weather will become more and more sultry and humid.