What is the meaning and symbol of Xiaoman?

It symbolizes the stage of crop growth but not fully mature.

The seeds of summer crops begin to be full and immature. Xiaoman marks the appearance of summer. At this point, it is too small to be full: summer crops such as wheat are full but immature, so it is called Xiao Man.

From the agricultural point of view, "Xiaoman" is not only related to the fullness of wheat grains in the north, but also to the abundant rain in the south. At this time, the winter wheat summer sowing crops in northern China entered the filling stage, the seeds were gradually full, and the harvest was just around the corner.

In the south, as the saying goes, "the river is full". With the increase of rainfall, rivers and lakes in the south of the Yangtze River are often rich in water. Otherwise, it means catching up with the dry and rainy year. Therefore, the word "full" here means more rain.

Xiaoman custom:

First of all, grab water and sacrifice to the car god

In the old society, drainage irrigation with water trucks was a major event in rural areas. As the saying goes, "Little people move three cars (silk car, oil car, water wheel)." The waterwheel will start on Xiaoman's day.

The ceremony of "grabbing water" is popular in Haining. In the past, farmers held it in the village. In the ceremony of "grabbing water", most of the elderly deacons gathered around each household to determine the date and arrange the preparatory work together. Then, at the dawn of Xiaoman, they began to go out in droves, lit torches and ate wheat cakes, wheat cakes and wheat balls on the waterwheel. Deacons use drums and gongs as signals, and everyone uses percussion instruments to step on the pre-installed water car on the river bank. Dozens of cars in quick march poured the river into people's fields forever until the river overflowed.

Sacrificing the car god is also an ancient custom in rural areas. It is said that "Car God" is a white dragon. The villagers will put some fish, incense sticks and other worship items in front of the water and on the foundation of the car. The special thing is that there is a glass of white water in the sacrifice. When offering sacrifices, pour the water in the cup into the field, which means wishing the water source to flourish.

Second, bitter vegetables

The season of bitter vegetables is around Xiaoman, and bitter vegetables are one of the earliest edible wild vegetables in China.

Bitter vegetables are all over the country, and they are called differently in different places. Shaanxi people call it "Bitter Vegetable", Ningxia people call it "Bitter Vegetable", and Li Shizhen calls it "Tianxiangcao". It's medically called septicemia.