What are the traditional customs of solar terms in Grain Rain?

The origin of solar terms in Grain Rain

Grain Rain means "Rain gives birth to hundreds of valleys", and it is Grain Rain when the sun reaches 30 on April 20th or 2 1 day every year. "Twenty-four solar terms" said, "In mid-March, after the rain, the soil paste pulsates, and now it rains, and its valley is in the water ... At this time, the valley is planted from bottom to top", hence the name. In Grain Rain season, in the south of China, "a hundred flowers blossom", willows fall, cuckoos cry at night, peonies bloom and cherries are ripe. The natural scenery tells people that it is late spring. At this time, the temperature in the south rises rapidly. Generally, in late April, except for parts of northern and western South China, the average temperature has reached 20℃ to 22℃, which is more than 2℃ higher than that in mid-April. High temperatures above 30℃ often occur in eastern South China for a day or two, which makes people feel very hot. Low-altitude valley areas are used to enter summer.

In ancient China, Grain Rain was divided into three stages: "The first stage was the beginning of pingsheng; The second time, the cuckoo blows feathers; The third class is Dai Ren's surrender. " After Grain Rain, rainfall increased, duckweed began to grow, then cuckoo began to remind people to sow, and then Dai Sheng birds began to be seen on mulberry trees.

During the Grain Rain solar term, the westerly jet in East Asia will weaken and move northward again, the warm and humid air mass in South China will become more active, the circulation fluctuation in the westerly belt from west to east will become more frequent, and the activities of low pressure and Jianghuai cyclone will gradually increase. Affected by it, there will be continuous rain or heavy wind and rain in the Jianghuai area.

Grain Rain is the last solar term in spring. At this time, just after planting seedlings and planting new crops in the field, rain is most needed, so there is a saying that "spring rain is as expensive as oil". At this time, the eastern part of most parts of South China is abundant with rainfall of about 30 to 50 mm in late April of the year. The first heavy rain usually occurs during this period, which is beneficial to rice planting and the growth of corn and cotton at seedling stage. However, most of the rainfall in other parts of South China is less than 30 mm, so irrigation measures should be taken to alleviate the impact of drought. The mountainous areas in the northwest plateau are still in the dry season, and the precipitation is generally only 5 to 20 mm. The rainfall around Grain Rain in South China often "sneaks into the night with the wind, and moistens things silently" because the frequency of "late rain" is the highest in April and May. "It often rains at night and the river sill is clear", which is very suitable for crop growth and harvest.

Most weather proverbs of Grain Rain Festival revolve around the center of rain but no rain, such as "Grain Rain is gloomy, it rains in summer", "Grain Rain rains, and there is no dry soil for forty-five days" and so on. There are also solar terms in Grain Rain, such as high temperature and frequent rainy days, which will cause the occurrence and prevalence of pests and diseases of wheat. The vast rural areas should do a good job in the prevention and control of wheat diseases and insect pests according to the weather changes.

The custom of solar terms in Grain Rain

For fishermen, Grain Rain Festival is a popular custom of offering sacrifices to the sea. Grain Rain season is the time when the sea is warm in spring, and it is a good day for hundreds of fish to go to the shallow sea. As the saying goes, "Ride Grain Rain to surf the Internet". In order to go to sea safely and return home with a full load, fishermen in Grain Rain will hold a sea sacrifice on this day to pray for Poseidon's blessing. Therefore, the Grain Rain Festival is also called the "strong festival" for fishermen to go fishing. This custom is still popular in Rongcheng, Jiaodong. In the past, fishermen were managed by fishing lines in a unified way, and sea sacrifice activities were generally organized by fishing lines. Sacrifice is a fat pig with hair removed and skin peeled, painted red with cavity blood and made 10 cakes with white flour. In addition, firecrackers and incense paper were prepared. If there are no whole pigs in the sea festival organized by fishermen's partnership, they will be replaced by pig heads or steamed pig cakes. In the past, every village had a sea temple or a mother temple. It's time for sacrifice. Fishermen carry sacrifices to the Temple of the Sea and the Mother Temple, while others carry them to the seaside, beating gongs and drums, setting off firecrackers and offering sacrifices to the sea. The scene is very grand.

In the old days, a Japanese Grain Rain painting, Zhang Tianshi, was posted on the door in Linfen, Shanxi, named "Forbidden Scorpion". Shaanxi Fengxiang Scorpion Curse is woodcut, which shows that there is a great demand. It was printed with the words: "In Grain Rain, in mid-March, scorpions showed off their bravado. God chicken bites, poisonous insects turn into water ... "In the center of the picture, the rooster holds the insect with a big scorpion under his paw. This painting is printed with a spell. The saying that the rooster cures the scorpion has been circulating among the people for a long time. Back to the fifty-fifth ghost story novel of Journey to the West, the Monkey King Pig Bajie is no match for Scorpion Essence, and Guanyin knows that he can't get close to him. So we had to ask the Monkey King to invite Pleiadian officials, and it succeeded. Pleiadian officials were originally a rooster with two crowns. It is described in the book that the Pleiadian star official showed his prototype-the rooster, and the rooster called out to the scorpion essence, and the scorpion essence immediately showed its prototype, which was a scorpion the size of a pipa. The cock crowed again, and the scorpion died delicate on the hillside. Scorpions are also forbidden in Shandong folk customs. Xiajin county annals in the sixth year of Qing Qianlong: "Grain Rain, cinnabar forbids scorpions." The folk custom of "banning scorpions" reflects people's feelings of expelling pests and longing for harvest and peace.

There was a custom of "going to Grain Rain" in ancient times. On this day, young women in Grain Rain visited relatives in the village, and some people came back after walking in the wild.

According to the custom of picking tea in southern Grain Rain, it is said that drinking tea on this day in Grain Rain will clear fire and ward off evil spirits and improve eyesight. Therefore, no matter what the weather is in Grain Rain, people will go to Chashan to pick some new tea to drink.

Toona sinensis is eaten in northern Grain Rain, and it is the season for Toona sinensis to go on the market around Grain Rain. At this time, Toona sinensis is mellow and refreshing, with high nutritional value. It is said that Toona sinensis is tender as silk before the rain. Toona sinensis has the functions of improving immunity, invigorating stomach, regulating qi, relieving diarrhea, moistening skin, resisting bacteria, diminishing inflammation and killing insects.

Grain Rain's custom of offering sacrifices to Cang Xie, Wen Zu, and Grain Rain's offering sacrifices to Cang Xie, Baishui County, Shaanxi Province, is a folk tradition that has spread for thousands of years since the Han Dynasty.

The river in Grain Rain is also very precious. In the northwest of China, people used to call the Grain Rain River "Peach Blossom Water". It is said that bathing with it can avoid disasters. Grain Rain Festival is celebrated with "Peach Blossom Water" bathing, hunting and dancing.

The custom of forbidding killing with five poisons is popular in Grain Rain Festival. After Grain Rain, the temperature rose, and pests and diseases entered a high growth period. In order to reduce the harm of pests to crops and people, farmers put up grain rain stickers to kill pests while entering the fields, and prayed to exorcise Naji. This custom is very popular in Shandong, Shanxi and Shaanxi. Grain Rain stickers, a kind of New Year pictures, are engraved with images such as hens catching scorpions, heavenly teachers removing five poisons or magical spells, and some are accompanied by words such as "The old gentleman on the throne is like a dharma, and snakes and scorpions will never be born in mid-March in Grain Rain" and "The old gentleman in Grain Rain came to earth in mid-March, and his hand was seven swords late, only the scorpion essence was cut". Grain Rain stickers in Shandong Province are generally made of yellow paper, with cinnabar as a sign of no scorpion, and are pasted on walls or scorpion holes to express people's psychology of killing pests and expecting a bumper harvest.

Grain Rain is also an important time for peony flowers to bloom, so peony flowers are also called "Grain Rain flowers". "Three generations of Grain Rain visited peony", and peony appreciation became an important recreational activity in people's leisure time. Today, there are more peony flowers in Heze, Shandong, Luoyang, Henan and Pengzhou, Sichuan than in Grain Rain, for people to play and get together.