Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - The 24 Solar Terms - Why does beginning of autumn "bite autumn" to eat watermelon in solar terms? Where are the allusions?

Why does beginning of autumn "bite autumn" to eat watermelon in solar terms? Where are the allusions?

Tianjin pays attention to eating watermelon or cantaloupe in beginning of autumn, which means "biting autumn", which means that the hot summer is unbearable. Take a bite when you get to beginning of autumn. If you use the current buzzword, it is called hold. Jiangsu and other places also eat watermelon to "bite the autumn" in beginning of autumn. It is said that prickly heat in autumn can be avoided. In Zhejiang and other places, beginning of autumn's daily habits of eating watermelon and shochu are thought to prevent malaria.

The custom of eating watermelon and eating watermelon in autumn has a long history. Legend has it that one year in the Ming Dynasty, many people in Nanjing suffered from dysentery, and some people followed the story of Cui Xianggong's daughter who ate melons to make "dysentery" heal itself. As a result, dysentery really got better.

Therefore, people eat more watermelons in autumn to prevent autumn dryness and form a custom for a long time. Zizhi, published in the Republic of China, records: "beginning of autumn ate watermelon the day before, which is called gnawing autumn." It also means welcoming the arrival of autumn.