Four seasons and eight festivals. Which eight festivals?

Eight festivals refer to solar terms such as beginning of spring, Spring Equinox, Long Summer, Summer Solstice, beginning of autumn, Autumn Equinox, beginning of winter and Winter Solstice, which are usually used to refer to solar terms in a year.

In our country, there are many popular proverbs about climate, among which the four seasons and eight festivals are very representative. So which eight festivals do the four seasons and eight festivals refer to? Let's get to know each other.

Details 0 1 beginning of spring is the first of the 24 solar terms, also known as Spring Festival, First Month Festival, Lunar New Year Festival, Lunar New Year Festival and Lunar New Year Festival. Standing means "start"; Spring represents warmth and growth. Twenty-four solar terms were originally formulated according to "variable stars". When the bucket handle of the Big Dipper points to the cloudy, it is beginning of spring. The current 24 solar terms are divided according to the "longitude of the sun". When the sun reaches longitude 3 15, it will be beginning of spring. In the era of cadres and branches, beginning of spring is the first year, beginning of spring is the beginning of everything, and it is the meaning of all self-renewal, which means that a new cycle has begun.

The vernal equinox, one of the 24 solar terms, is the fourth solar term in spring. The solar calendar reaches 0, and festivals are held on March 19~22 of Gregorian calendar every year.

At the vernal equinox, the direct point of the sun is on the equator, and then the direct point of the sun continues to move northward, so the vernal equinox is also called the "ascending equinox". In ancient times, it was also called "Japan-China", "Day and Night" and "Mid-spring Moon".

The vernal equinox is an important solar term, which is of great significance in astronomy: the northern and southern hemispheres divide the day and night equally. In climate, it also has obvious characteristics. Since then, the direct position of the sun has continued to move from the equator to the northern hemisphere. The day in the northern hemisphere began to be longer than the night, and the day in the southern hemisphere began to be shorter than the night.

Long summer is the seventh solar term among the twenty-four solar terms and the first solar term in summer. The festival of long summer falls on May 05-07 of the Gregorian calendar every year, when the bucket handle of the Big Dipper points to the southeast and the longitude of the sun reaches 45. "Almanac": "Dou refers to the southeast, Wei is the long summer, and everything has grown up since then, so it is named long summer." Long summer is an important solar term, marking the peak season for the growth of all things. After the long summer, the sunshine increases, the temperature rises gradually, the thunderstorm increases, and the crops enter a vigorous growth stage.

Summer solstice was also called "summer season" and "summer solstice festival" in ancient times. The ancients said: "The days are long, the shadows are short and extremely extreme, so it is called the summer solstice." When the sun moves to the longitude of the Yellow River at 90 degrees, it is the intersection of the summer solstice, usually on June 2 1 ~ 22 of the Gregorian calendar. On the solstice of summer, the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer. At this time, the daytime in all parts of the northern hemisphere reaches the longest in the whole year, and the higher the latitude, the longer the daytime. For the Tropic of Cancer and its northern area, the summer solstice is also the highest day of the year at noon.

Beginning of autumn is the13rd solar term among the 24 solar terms, and it is celebrated from August 7th to 9th in the Gregorian calendar every year. At this time, the bucket handle of the Big Dipper points southwest, and the sun reaches longitude 135. Beginning of autumn is the first solar term and the starting point of autumn. Autumn begins in the beginning of autumn and ends in beginning of winter, which is the result of celestial movement. Beginning of autumn is the node where Yang gradually closes and Yin gradually grows, and Yang gradually turns into Yin. Autumn means precipitation, humidity, etc. At the turning point of the year, there is a downward or decreasing trend; In nature, everything begins to grow from lush to mature.

The autumnal equinox is the sixteenth of the twenty-four solar terms, and the time is generally from September 22nd to September 24th of the Gregorian calendar every year. On the day of the autumnal equinox, the sun reaches the longitude 180 (autumnal equinox), almost reaching the equator of the earth, and the length of day and night is equal all over the world (regardless of the refraction of the sun light by the atmosphere and the shadow in the morning). In ancient times, there was a folk activity of "offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn". The autumnal equinox used to be the traditional "Moon Festival" (Mid-Autumn Festival), which evolved from offering sacrifices to the moon in autumn.

Beginning of winter, one of the twenty-four solar terms, bucket handle points to the northwest, and the longitude of the sun reaches 225 degrees, and it falls on the 7th and 8th of the Gregorian calendar165438+1October every year. Beginning of winter is a seasonal solar term, which means that it has entered winter since then. Stand still, build the beginning; In winter, everything will be collected in the end. In the dead of winter, yang retreats to yin, life closes, and everything is harvested. "Spring grows, summer grows, autumn harvests, and winter stores", and winter is the season to enjoy a bumper harvest and recuperate. Beginning of winter is one of the "four seasons and eight festivals" in ancient China. In some places in ancient China, sacrifices, banquets and other activities were held at the beginning of winter as important festivals to celebrate.

Winter solstice, also known as short solstice, winter festival, sub-year, winter worship and so on. There are two connotations: nature and humanity. It is not only an important solar term among the 24 solar terms, but also a traditional folk festival in China. The solstice in winter is one of the eight festivals in four seasons, and it is considered as a big holiday in winter. There is an ancient saying that the solstice in winter is as big as a year, so the ancients called it "off-year" or "off-year". The custom of winter solstice varies in content or details due to different regions. In some areas along the southern coast of China, there are customs of offering sacrifices to ancestors and feasting on the winter solstice. In northern China, it is a custom to eat jiaozi from winter to Sunday every year.