What does Xiao Man mean?

Xiaoman is one of the twenty-four solar terms and the second solar term in summer. Xiaoman-refers to the summer crops with full seeds, but not yet mature, just small and not yet full. Every year from May 20th to 22nd, when the sun reaches 60 degrees, it is in full bloom.

The main weather characteristics before and after Xiaoman are high temperature, high humidity and rainy. Therefore, it is extremely important to prevent heat and moisture, and attention should be paid to mildew prevention in food, clothing, housing and transportation. In addition, warm and cold weather meet frequently before and after Xiaoman, and strong convective weather also occurs from time to time. We should be especially alert to heavy rain, strong winds, lightning and other weather.

Generally speaking, if the cold air in the north can penetrate into the southern part of China, and the warm and humid airflow in the south is also strong, it is easy to cause heavy rain or torrential rain in South China. Therefore, the late Xiaoman solar term is often the tense stage of flood control in these areas.

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Xiaoman's holiday customs

1, offering sacrifices to Che Shen

Sacrificing the car god is an ancient small custom in some rural areas. In related legends, Erche God is a white dragon. People put fish, incense and other items on the waterwheel to offer sacrifices, and there will be a glass of white water when offering sacrifices, which will be poured into the field when offering sacrifices, meaning to bless the prosperity of inkstone.

2. Sacrifice silkworms

According to legend, Xiaoman is the birthday of the silkworm god, so when Xiaoman is in the solar term, there is a silkworm blessing festival in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. China's farming culture is a typical "male ploughing and female weaving". The raw materials for women's weaving are mainly cotton in the north and sericulture management in the south.

Silkworms are pampered "pets" and are difficult to feed. Temperature, humidity, cold, mature, dry and wet mulberry leaves will all affect the survival of silkworms. Silkworms were regarded as a "godsend" in ancient times because they were difficult to raise. In order to pray for the forgiveness of "natural things" and the harvest of sericulture, people hold a silkworm prayer festival when they release silkworms in April.

References:

Baidu encyclopedia-xiaoman