What does long summer mean? Why do you eat eggs?

Long summer is the seventh solar term in the twenty-four solar terms of the lunar calendar, and the first solar term in summer marks the official start of the season in Xia Meng. When the sun reaches 45 degrees of the yellow meridian, it is the long summer solar term. The bucket refers to the southeast, and the dimension is long in summer. Everything has grown to this day, hence the name Long Summer. Twenty-four solar terms: Long Summer and April Festival. Make a word to understand spring. Summer, holidays. At this time, everything is fake and big. "Astronomically, Chang Xia said that saying goodbye to spring is the beginning of summer. People used to think that the long summer is a significant increase in temperature, close to the high temperature in summer, more thunderstorms and crops. ...

brief introduction

Long summer is the seventh solar term in the twenty-four solar terms of the lunar calendar, and the first solar term in summer marks the official start of the season in Xia Meng. When the sun reaches 45 degrees of the yellow meridian, it is the long summer solar term. The bucket refers to the southeast, and the dimension is long in summer. Everything has grown to this day, hence the name Long Summer.

Twenty-four solar terms: Long Summer and April Festival. Make a word to understand spring. Summer, holidays. At this time, everything is fake and big. "

Astronomically, Chang Xia said that bidding farewell to spring is the beginning of summer. When the temperature rises obviously, the summer heat comes, thunderstorms increase and crops enter the peak season, people are used to taking long summer as an important solar term.

Brief introduction of solar terms

The season of Long Summer was established at the end of the Warring States Period (239 BC), indicating the change of seasons, and it was the day when the four seasons of summer were divided according to the lunar calendar in ancient times.

For example, The Interpretation of Yizhoushu Poems says: "On a long summer day, the sound is like cricket. On the fifth day, the earthworm came out. Another five days, Wang Guasheng. " That is to say, in this solar term, you can first hear the chirping of grubs (that is, slugs) in the field, then you can see earthworms digging in the soil, and then the vines of melon begin to climb and grow rapidly, which describes the phenological scene in early summer.

"Twenty-four solar terms" said: "It was also the beginning of long summer, when Xia Zhishi was established and everything was false." The "false" here, that is, "big", means that the plants sown in spring have grown upright.

In fact, according to the standard of climatology, the daily average temperature rises to above 22℃ steadily, starting from summer. Before and after the "Long Summer", only the area south of Fuzhou-Nanling Line in China is really "the trees are dark in midsummer, and the balcony reflects the pond", while some areas in the northeast and northwest have just entered the spring, and the average temperature in most parts of the country is around 18 ~ 20℃, which is ". In May, Sophora japonica blooms in many places.

In the long summer, everything is thriving. The book "Eight Chapters of Lotus Life" written by the Ming Dynasty said: "On the day of summer dream, heaven and earth began to merge and everything was beautiful." At this time, the summer harvest crops entered the late growth stage, the winter wheat blossomed and filled, the rape was close to maturity, and the summer harvest crops were basically a foregone conclusion that year. Therefore, there is a saying in agricultural proverbs that "see summer in the long summer". Rice planting and management of other spring-sown crops have also entered a busy season.

Therefore, China has always attached great importance to the long summer solar terms. According to records, during the Zhou Dynasty, on the day of long summer, the emperor personally led hundreds of civil and military officials to the suburbs to "welcome summer" and instructed Si Tuleideng and other officials to encourage farmers to work hard. [3]

Solar terms custom

Folding ceremony to welcome summer

The welcoming ceremony of long summer "Summer" means "big", which means that the plants sown in spring have grown upright. In ancient times, people attached great importance to the customs and habits of long summer. On the long summer day, the ancient emperor would lead officials to the southern suburbs of Beijing to welcome the summer and hold a ceremony to welcome the summer. The monarch and his subjects all wear red ceremonial costumes and red jade ornaments, and even horses and car flags should be red to express their desire and good wishes for a bumper harvest.

In the imperial court, "open the ice in summer and give it to the civil and military ministers." Ice was stored last winter and given to officials by the emperor. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang, people are sad and cherish spring because of the bright spring, so they prepare wine and vegetables for fun, as if they were giving people away, and call it Hunchun. In Fu, Cui Jian said: "Welcome to the summer is the first, and the spring is the last." Wu Outing's poem "Long Summer" also said: "There is no way to go in spring, and the cherry blossoms return in spring." In the folk, people drink cold drinks to cool off in summer. In summer, there is a custom of boiling tender broad beans in Jiangnan water town. In some places, there is also the custom of calling people in summer. [2]

Folding and tasting new activities

Later generations have a festival in summer, such as tasting new things. For example, there is a saying in Suzhou that "three creations are seen in the long summer", and the three creations are cherries, plums and wheat, which are used for ancestor worship. In Changshu, tasting new foods is more abundant, and there is a saying of "nine meats and thirteen vegetables". Nine meats are crucian carp, salted eggs, snails and quenching (that is, cooked with small fire; A cooking method comprises processing with various spices to make chicken, salted fresh, marinated shrimp and cherry meat; Thirteen elements include cherry, plum, wheat silkworm (new wheat is kneaded into thin strips and cooked), bamboo shoot, broad bean, spear tip, pea, cucumber, lettuce, grass head, radish, rose and pine flower. In Nantong, we eat boiled chicken and duck eggs.

Why do you eat eggs when you fold them?

The custom of eating eggs in long summer has a long history. As the saying goes, "if you eat eggs in the long summer, it will not be summer when it is hot." According to legend, since the day of long summer, the weather has been sunny and warm, and it has gradually become hot. Many people, especially children, will feel tired, lose their appetite and gradually lose weight. This is the so-called "squat". Nu Wa Niangniang told the people that every year during the Long Summer Festival, children hang cooked chicken, duck and goose eggs on their chests to escape the heat. Therefore, the custom of eating eggs in the long summer festival has continued to this day.

Summer begins in April of the lunar calendar. "Eggs in April are as cheap as vegetables." People put eggs in leftover "Qijia tea" and cook them, which becomes "tea eggs". Later, people improved their cooking methods by adding fennel, gravy, cinnamon and Jiang Mo to Qijia tea. Since then, tea eggs have become one of the traditional snacks in China, replacing the seasonal and climatic foods in the long summer.

Why does Chang Xia eat eggs?

One saying is that the ancients thought that an egg was round and symbolized a complete life. Eating eggs in summer can pray for peace in summer. "Eating eggs in long summer is not summer when it is hot." Many places have the custom of eating eggs in long summer, which means that eating eggs in long summer can prevent common summer symptoms such as loss of appetite, fatigue and emaciation.

There is another saying: I eat the most in the long summer, and eating an egg is equivalent to eating a chicken. After the long summer, agriculture becomes busy and people get tired easily. Eating red dates and eggs is to replenish physical strength.

This statement is consistent with Chinese medicine theory. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that eggs are flat, replenish qi deficiency, and have the effect of calming the nerves and nourishing the heart. In the past, when the living conditions were not very good, red dates and eggs were terrible. Eating a long summer egg is not only a reward for hard work, but also a hope for peace and harvest.

Because eggs don't hurt the spleen and stomach, most people are suitable, so even for patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension, eating eggs in the long summer is healthy.

Duck eggs are cool, can nourish yin and clear lung, and are suitable for people with yin deficiency and excessive fire, and are suitable for physical weakness, dry cough, dry throat, sore throat, hypertension, diarrhea, dysentery after illness and other diseases. If you are young, have a lot of daily activities and have no chronic diseases such as hypertension, you can try salted duck eggs. As long as it is not salty, it can clear away heat and help supplement minerals such as salt.

In Jiaxing, there are salted duck eggs in the eggs of long summer. Anyone who engages in aquaculture knows that the eggs laid by ducks in spring are of the best quality and are good materials for making salted eggs. Salted duck eggs in the long summer season are all salted before Tomb-Sweeping Day, and they are eaten in the long summer one month later, which is the first salted egg in a year. The first batch of salted duck eggs was eaten in the long summer, which is different from the meaning of eating salted duck eggs on the Dragon Boat Festival.

Eat eggs in moderation in the long summer.

The human body consumes a lot in summer, so we should pay attention to supplementing nutrition. As the saying goes, "Eating eggs in long summer can crush stones", which means that people who eat eggs are particularly energetic. Egg white is a high-quality protein, and egg yolk is rich in lecithin. Eggs are very good nutritious food.

Although the experience value of eggs is high, the more eggs you eat, the better. Eating too many eggs can easily lead to overnutrition and obesity. Increase the burden on the liver and kidneys. Excessive protein will overload the urea manufacturing system, and excessive intake of protein will produce a large number of chemicals such as ammonia, hydroxyl and phenol in the intestine, which is very harmful to human body. Abdominal distension, dizziness, limb weakness, coma and other symptoms are likely to occur, which is often called "protein poisoning syndrome".

Therefore, you should eat eggs in moderation in the long summer, just one or two eggs a day. In addition, there are many ways to eat eggs, such as boiling, steaming, frying and frying. As far as the absorption and digestibility of egg nutrition are concerned, boiled eggs and steamed eggs are 100%, tender eggs are 98%, scrambled eggs are 97%, poached eggs are 92.5%, old eggs are 8 1. 1%, and raw eggs are 30% ~ 50%. From this point of view, boiled eggs and steamed eggs should be the best way to eat.

Folding egg-beating game

At noon that day, every household in Changxia "asked people" to cook the eggs (eggs are boiled in shells and cannot be damaged), soak them in cold water for a few minutes, then put on woven silk bags and hang them around the children's necks. Children will play egg-beating games in groups of three or five. An egg has two heads, the pointed one is the head and the round one is the tail.

When you beat eggs, the head of the egg hits the head of the egg and the tail of the egg hits the tail of the egg. Fight one by one, the loser gives up, and finally the high and low are separated. The winner of the egg head is the first, and the egg is king; The winner of the egg is the second place, and the egg is called Xiao Wang or Er Wang.

Eat eggs

This is a folk custom. At noon in the long summer, every household cooks the eggs (the eggs are cooked in shells and cannot be damaged), then soaks them in cold water for a few minutes, then wraps them in woven bags and hangs them around the children's necks. Children will play egg-beating games in groups of three or five. An egg has two heads, the pointed one is the head and the round one is the tail. When you beat eggs, the head of the egg hits the head of the egg and the tail of the egg hits the tail of the egg. Fight one by one, the loser gives up, and finally the high and low are separated. The winner of the egg head is the first, and the egg is king; The winner of the egg is the second place, and the egg is called Xiao Wang or Er Wang. As the saying goes, "an egg hangs on the chest in the long summer, and the child has no summer sickness." Summer sickness is a common anorexia, which can cause abdominal distension, fatigue and emaciation in summer, especially for children. Lunch is glutinous rice mixed with peas. There must be boiled eggs, whole bamboo shoots, peas with shells and other special dishes on the dining table. Eat double eggs and bamboo shoots in pairs, no matter how many peas. According to folklore, eating eggs in the long summer depends on the heart. Because eggs are shaped like a heart, people think that eating eggs can keep the spirit from losing money. It will be a hot summer after a long summer. In order not to lose weight in hot summer, Chang Xia should take supplements. With a thriving life, people's legs are as strong as bamboo shoots, and they can travel long distances by their legs. Peas with shells are shaped like eyes. Eye diseases were common in ancient times. In order to eliminate eye diseases, people pray that their eyes will be as clear as fresh peas for one year by eating peas.