Characteristics and customs of solar terms in Grain Rain

The solar terms in Grain Rain are characterized by stormy weather. The customs are: drinking Grain Rain tea, eating Toona sinensis, offering sacrifices to Cang Xie, offering sacrifices to Wenzu, enjoying peony and offering sacrifices to the sea.

1. Drink Grain Rain tea: It is said that drinking tea in Grain Rain will clear fire, ward off evil spirits and improve eyesight, so there is a custom of picking tea in Grain Rain in the south. No matter what the weather is in Grain Rain, people will go to Chashan to pick some new tea and drink it to pray for health.

2. Eating Toona sinensis: There is a custom of eating Toona sinensis in Grain Rain in the north. Toona sinensis was listed 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.

3. Sacrifice to Cang Xie, Wen Zu: Since the Han Dynasty, there has been a custom of offering sacrifices to Cang Xie, Wen Zu in Grain Rain and Baishui County, Shaanxi Province. According to legend, Cang Xie created characters and made great contributions to the world. The Yellow Emperor was moved by it and took "Grain Rain" as his reward for creating characters. Since then, there has been a "Grain Rain Festival". Since then, every year during the Grain Rain Festival, nearby villagers will organize temple fairs to commemorate Cang Xie.

4. Peony Appreciation: Grain Rain is an important time for peony to bloom, so peony is also called Grain Rain Flower and Fugui Flower. "Three generations of Grain Rain visited Peony". Up to now, there are more peony fairs in Heze, Shandong, Luoyang, Henan and Pengzhou, Sichuan than in Grain Rain, for people to enjoy.

5. Sacrifice to the sea: In the northern coastal areas of China, fishermen have celebrated Grain Rain Festival for more than 2,000 years, and it was renamed "Fisherman's Day" in Daoguang period of Qing Dynasty. Today, wealthy fishermen in Rongcheng, Shandong Province will still hold a grand "sea sacrifice" activity in the Grain Rain, toast the goddess Poseidon, and then set sail for fishing.