What are the classic customs of vernal equinox and solar terms?

It is said that every spring equinox, tens of millions of people all over the world are doing "vertical egg" experiments. As early as 4,000 years ago, China had the tradition of dividing eggs in spring to celebrate the arrival of spring. Later it gradually evolved into a tradition of praying for good luck.

If you want to "erect an egg" successfully, you can choose a smooth and symmetrical fresh egg that has just been laid for four or five days and try to erect it on a flat plate. Although there are many losers, there are also many winners. Some people explain that this is because vernal equinox has an inclination of 66.5 degrees with the earth's axis, and the orbital plane of the earth's revolution around the sun is in a state of relative balance of forces, which is very conducive to "vertical eggs". It is said that a stable egg can last for more than ten days without external interference.

Step 2 eat spring vegetables

In some areas of Lingnan, there is an unbroken custom on the day of the vernal equinox, which is called "eating spring vegetables at the vernal equinox". "Spring vegetable" is a kind of wild amaranth, which villagers call "Artemisia chun". At the vernal equinox, people go to pick spring vegetables. When searching in the wild, it is often green and thin, about the length of a palm.

Picked spring vegetables are usually boiled with fish fillets at home, which is called "spring soup". There is also a folk jingle that describes it like this: "Spring soup is dirty, washing the liver and intestines; The whole family is safe and healthy. " A year's plan lies in spring, and the vernal equinox is coming. Faced with the germination of all things, people naturally want to pray for peace and health at home.

3. Spring Festival

At the vernal equinox in February, people began to sweep graves to worship their ancestors, also known as the Spring Festival. Before people sweep the graves, they should hold a grand ancestor worship ceremony in the ancestral hall, kill pigs and sheep, ask drummers to play, read the eulogy and quote three praises. At the beginning of the spring equinox grave sweeping, the first thing is to sweep the graves of ancestors and distant ancestors. The whole family and the whole village have to be dispatched on a large scale, and the team often reaches hundreds or even thousands. After the ancestral graves of Kaiji and Yuanzu were swept, they were divided into rooms to sweep the graves of ancestors in each room, and finally each family swept the graves privately.

In most Hakka areas, ancestor worship and grave sweeping in spring begin at the vernal equinox or earlier, and must end in Tomb-Sweeping Day at the latest. There is a saying everywhere that after the Qingming Festival, the tomb door is closed, and the ancestors' spirits are not needed.