The origin and custom of the twenty-four solar terms

The twenty-four solar terms are defined according to the position of the earth in the orbit around the sun and belong to the solar calendar. The earth revolves around the sun for 360 degrees, which is 0 degrees at the vernal equinox and 15 degrees at Qingming. After that, every 15 degree is a solar term, and its date is basically fixed in the solar calendar.

The naming of the 24 solar terms reflects three seasons, climate phenomena and climate changes, which are described in detail below.

Beginning of spring: On February 4th or 5th every year, when the sun reaches 3 15, it is beginning of spring. Beginning of spring was once an important festival in ancient China. In ancient China, every dynasty held a ceremony to welcome the Spring Festival. The folk activities around beginning of spring included "Spring Baby", "Spring Whip", "Spring Roll", "Spring Beating", "Spring Wine" and "Spring Cattle".

Rainwater: every February 19 or so, when the longitude of the sun reaches 330 degrees, it is rain. In the rain, the married daughters went to visit their parents with gifts. Women who have children should bring pots, pans, meat chairs and other gifts to thank their parents for their kindness. For women who are not pregnant for a long time, mother will sew a pair of red trousers for them to wear to their private parts. It is said that this will enable them to get pregnant and have children as soon as possible.

Sting: It is a sting when the sun reaches 345 degrees on March 5th or 6th every year. A spring thunder on the flat ground woke up all the hibernating snakes, insects, rats and ants. People will use incense and wormwood to drive away snakes, insects, mice and molds in the four corners of their homes on the day of fright. There is also the custom of offering sacrifices to white tigers and beating villains. The most common custom is to eat raw pears. It is said that eating them in seasonal time can cure all diseases.

Vernal equinox: March 20th or 2 1 every year. The vernal equinox is when the sun reaches 0 on the ecliptic. There is a custom of eating spring vegetables at the vernal equinox. Spring vegetables collected on the day of the vernal equinox are usually boiled with fish fillets at home, which is called "spring soup". There is also the custom of sending "spring cattle". The Spring Cattle Map is to print the solar terms of the Lunar New Year on red paper or yellow paper, and also print the farmer's ploughing pattern.

Qingming: It is defined as Qingming when the sun reaches 15 on April 5 in the solar calendar every year. Tomb-Sweeping Day, Chu, Yu and Jiu San Festival are also the four major festivals for ancestor worship in Chinese traditional festivals. Tomb-Sweeping Day's customs are rich and interesting. Besides forbidding fire, eating cold food and sweeping graves, there are also a series of customs and sports activities such as hiking, swinging, playing cuju, playing polo and inserting willows.

Grain Rain: On April 20th or 2 1 day every year, when the sun reaches 30 degrees of the yellow longitude, it is Grain Rain. On this day in Grain Rain, young women will visit relatives in the village or go for a walk in the wild, which means the integration of nature and health.

Long summer: On May 5 or 6 every year, when the longitude of the sun reaches 45, it is a long summer. In summer, people drink cold drinks to cool off the heat, and there is a custom of boiling tender broad beans in Jiangnan water town. In some places, there are also custom activities such as tasting new things in summer.

Xiaoman: Every year from May 20th to 22nd, when the sun reaches 60 degrees of the Yellow Meridian, it is called Xiaoman. Xiaoman is the season of topdressing early rice and transplanting middle rice in Jiangnan. If the field is not filled with water, it will cause the ridge to crack, and it is impossible to transplant rice seedlings, which will affect the harvest of crops.

Ear seed: it is the ear seed when the sun reaches 75 degrees on June 6 every year. It means that the seeds of crops with awns, such as barley and wheat, are ripe and it is very urgent to grab the harvest. People often hold a ceremony of offering sacrifices to the flower god on Ear Seed Day to send him back to his original place, and at the same time express their gratitude to him, hoping to meet him again next year.

Summer Solstice: On June 2 1 or 22 every year, when the sun reaches 90 degrees of the yellow meridian, it is the summer Solstice. Solstice people pay attention to eating noodles on this day in summer, but in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, the summer solstice is a festival to worship ancestors, commonly known as "making the summer solstice." In addition to the regular offerings, a plate of cake was added. People in Cantonese-speaking areas in Guangzhou and Qinzhou and Yulin in Guangxi like to eat dog meat and lychee on the solstice in summer.

Slight summer heat: it is mild summer heat when the sun reaches 105 on July 7 or 8 every year. The summer heat is also the time when the human body's yang is at its peak. When people are working, they cook lotus leaves, Smilax glabra, lentils, coix seed, polyporus, Alisma orientalis, kapok and other materials into summer soup or porridge, either sweet or salty, which is very suitable for this solar term.

Summer heat: Every year from July 22 to 24, when the sun reaches the yellow meridian 120, it is summer heat. The "Summer Boat" activity has a history of hundreds of years. At that time, more than 50 fishermen will take turns to carry the "Summer Boat" to the streets, and the streets on both sides of the drums will be crowded with people praying. The "Summer Boat" was finally transported to the dock for a series of blessing ceremonies.

Beginning of autumn: Every year from August 7th to 9th (around the first day of the seventh lunar month), when the sun returns from the Tropic of Cancer to the south, it reaches longitude 135, which is beginning of autumn. There is a custom of "autumn harvest mutual assistance" in rural areas. On this day in early autumn, people will also weigh themselves with hanging scales, and compared with the weight of Chang Xia, which is also very popular among the people, commonly known as iron ball steamed bread. In early autumn, we eat all kinds of meat, such as stew, barbecue and braised pork.

Summer heat: It is summer heat when the sun reaches 150 longitude around August 23rd every year. The folk customs around the summer solar terms are mostly related to ancestor worship and welcoming autumn. There will be folk activities to celebrate the Central Plains-in ancient times, there were ceremonies to open the gate of hell from the beginning of July until the end of the month.

Millennium: It is the Millennium when the sun reaches longitude 165 degrees from September 7th to 9th every year. In the past, "Bailu Tea" was very popular. It had a unique sweetness and clear fragrance. Zixing Xingning, Sandu and Liaojiang have always had wine-making customs. Every year on the Millennium Festival, every family will make wine and drink "local wine" when receiving guests.

Autumnal equinox: On September 22nd or 23rd every year, when the sun reaches 180 degrees, it directly hits the equator of the earth. The autumnal equinox solar terms have really entered autumn. In ancient China, there was a custom of "autumn dusk and evening moon". The moon at night is to worship the moon god. The Mid-Autumn Festival is an ancient ceremony, which expresses people's good wishes to pray for the moon god to bless the world.

Cold dew: it is cold dew when the sun reaches 195 on October 8 or 9 every year. During the cold dew season, people have the custom of enjoying chrysanthemums and climbing mountains on the ninth day.

First frost: The first frost occurs every year on1October 23rd or 24th 10, when the sun reaches 2 10 degrees. In some places, people eat red persimmons in the first frost season. In the eyes of local people, it can not only keep out the cold and keep warm, but also nourish the bones and muscles. This is a good first frost food.

Beginning of winter: Every year, between165438+1October 7-8, beginning of winter begins when the sun is at 225 degrees of the yellow longitude. In the folk, there are customs such as ancestor worship, feasting and divination of age, and the best seasonal products are used to worship ancestors. There is also a good custom of swimming in winter. In the north of China, people in Beijing and Tianjin like to eat jiaozi in early winter, while in the south of China, people like to eat some chicken, duck and fish in early winter.

Xiaoxue: Every year165438+1October 22 or 23, when the sun reaches 240 degrees of the yellow meridian, it is a light snow solar term. There is a folk custom of "storing wax in winter to keep out the cold". It is a good time to process bacon after a light snow. After the light snow festival, some farmers began to make sausages and bacon and enjoy food during the Spring Festival. Some places in the south also have the custom of eating Ciba in October of the lunar calendar.

Heavy snow: On February 7th or 8th of 65438+ every year, it is heavy snow when the sun reaches 255 degrees of the Yellow Meridian. As soon as the solar term comes, every household is busy curing bacon. After curing, hang it under the eaves of Chaoyang to dry to welcome the New Year.

Winter Solstice: Every year in the solar calendar (65438+February, 2 1 to 23), when the sun reaches 270 degrees of the Huangjing, the winter Solstice is a day to worship the heavens and ancestors. In the north of China, people are used to eating jiaozi on this day, and jiaozi and pumpkin in the south of China. There is a proverb in Inner Mongolia: "Don't eat meat on the solstice in winter, and freeze your toes", which shows that you must eat meat on the solstice in winter.

Slight cold: it is a slight cold between 65438+1October 5-6 every year, when the sun is located at 285 degrees of the yellow meridian. Generally, you should cook, with short yellow vegetables and bacon slices, sausage slices or diced salted duck, and then chop some ginger and cook with glutinous rice. It is very fragrant and delicious. According to the tradition in Guangzhou, Han Xiao eats glutinous rice in the morning.

Great cold: Every year when the sun reaches 300 degrees of the yellow meridian, 65438+1October 20th or 2 1 day enters the great cold solar term. On this day, people cook a pot of sweet and delicious Laba porridge with whole grains, peanuts, chestnuts, red dates and lotus seeds, which is an indispensable staple food for Chinese New Year. During the period from the Great Cold to beginning of spring, there were many important folk customs and festivals. Such as sumptuous food, sacrificial stoves and New Year's Eve dinner.

Twenty-four solar terms are not only the time criterion promulgated by successive governments, but also the compass to guide agricultural production and to predict cold, warm, snow and rainy days in people's daily life. Twenty-four solar terms accurately reflect seasonal changes, which are used to guide agricultural activities and affect the food, clothing, housing and transportation of thousands of households. The twenty-four solar terms scientifically reveal the laws of astronomical and meteorological changes.

Twenty-four solar terms perfectly combine astronomy, agriculture, phenology and folk customs, and derive a large number of seasonal cultures related to them, which have become an important part of China traditional culture.

In the long farming society, the 24 solar terms have played an important guiding role in agricultural activities and have rich cultural connotations. Some important solar terms such as beginning of spring, Winter Solstice and Qingming also have interesting folk customs, such as "biting spring" and "hiking".

The 24 solar terms are still of practical value to our life and culture. For example, judging from the very popular TCM regimen, autumn begins with the solar terms in beginning of autumn, close to the great summer heat and humid heat; Autumn ends in the first frost, close to the early winter, and the climate is dry and cold.

Although early autumn and late autumn are in the same season, the climate is completely opposite, and the seasonal diseases encountered by doctors are completely different from those that Chinese medicine needs to prevent. Therefore, it is not enough to simply follow the four seasons, but also follow the solar terms.

Some experts believe that although with the acceleration of China's urbanization process and the development of modern agricultural technology, the guiding role of the 24 solar terms in farming has gradually weakened.

However, it still has a variety of cultural significance and social functions in contemporary China people's lives, which clearly embodies China people's concept of respecting nature, conforming to natural laws and sustainable development, and highlights China people's uniqueness in understanding the universe and nature and the richness of practical activities.

References:

Baidu encyclopedia-24 solar terms