What do you mean by dog days?

Sanyangtian refers to the summer solstice in the twenty-four solar terms of the China lunar calendar. On the day of summer solstice, the height of the sun reaches the highest peak of the year. After this day, the sun gradually moved south, and the day and night time gradually shortened, entering the hot summer season. Therefore, since the summer solstice, many areas have entered the dog days, which is also one of the traditional severe weather tests in China.

Because the height of the sun reaches its peak on the solstice in summer, the sun shines directly on the ground, so the temperature rises day by day and the climate is getting hotter and hotter. During this period, the weather in southern China, especially in southern China, was hot and humid, and heatstroke and water poisoning began to appear in rivers and lakes, while the northern region was dry and hot with little rain, which was suitable for field work.

Sanyangtian is an important solar term in ancient China, and people will hold various celebrations at this time. Among them, Dragon Boat Festival is an important festival after the summer solstice, also known as "May Festival" and "Duanyang Festival". During the Dragon Boat Festival, people often eat zongzi, race dragon boats and stick mugwort leaves to celebrate driving away plague, malicious and evil souls. In addition, there are folk activities in many areas at this node from summer to Sunday. For example, in some areas of Shandong Province, people will hold sacrificial activities on the solstice in summer to commemorate historical figures such as Wen Tianxiang and Yan Song and pray for peace and happiness.