Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - The 24 Solar Terms - Origin and custom of summer solstice

Origin and custom of summer solstice

The origin of the summer solstice can be traced back to the 7th century BC. The ancients used earth gauges to measure the shadow of the sun to determine the time of the summer solstice. The arrival of the summer solstice indicates that the hottest day of the year has arrived, and the temperature will continue to rise for some time after the summer solstice until it falls back. In ancient times, the summer solstice was the summer solstice festival, and there was a custom of eating noodles in the north, while there was a saying of eating wonton in the south of the Yangtze River.

What are the customs and origins of the summer solstice?

The summer solstice is the first of the 24 solar terms, and its origin can be traced back to the 7th century BC. The ancients used earth gauges to measure the shadow of the sun, thus determining the time of the summer solstice. It is recorded in the manuscript of Zunxian: "The sun arrives in the north, the day is long, and the shadow is short, so the summer reaches the solar pole."

The arrival of the summer solstice means that the hottest day of the year is coming, but this time is not the hottest time. After the summer solstice, the temperature will continue to rise for some time, and it will be the hottest weather in about 20 or 30 days, so it will start to fall.

In ancient times, the summer solstice was still an important festival, also known as the "summer solstice festival". On this day, there are customs and habits of worshipping gods and ancestors to get a bumper harvest. In the north of China, there is a custom of "chaos in winter, eating noodles in summer, and eating wonton in the south of the Yangtze River in summer.".