Customs, Alias and Origin of Autumn

Beginning of autumn is a traditional festival with a long history in July of the lunar calendar (around August 8 of the solar calendar). As early as the Zhou Dynasty, on the day of beginning of autumn, Emperor Tiandi personally led the princes and doctors of the Three Kingdoms and Nine Counties to the western suburbs to welcome autumn and hold a sacrificial ceremony. In the Han Dynasty, this custom was followed, and animals were sacrificed to show Qiu Lai's intention to promote martial arts. People have the custom of predicting whether the weather will be cold or hot when they are in beginning of autumn. Cui Yan's "Four-person Monthly Order" in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "Welcome to beginning of autumn, it is chilly; Autumn night, hot to the end. " Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, drinking autumn water and eating red beans every day has become a custom. Take seven to fourteen small red beans and swallow them with well water, facing west when taking them, so it is said that dysentery can be avoided in autumn.

Beginning of autumn weighed people in the morning, and compared with the number of people in summer, we can know whether summer itself is fat or thin. In terms of diet, it is common to eat watermelon, steam eggplant, stir-fry glutinous rice or drink soju in early autumn. "Food is the most important thing for the people". Beginning of autumn is a very important solar term, and people certainly can't forget to eat it. Therefore, it is deeply loved by the people in Beijing and Hebei. People have a bad appetite in dog days, so many people will lose weight. In the Qing Dynasty, people (mostly children, of course) were weighed by hanging scales, and compared with the weight of Chang Xia to measure their fatness. Losing weight is called "bitter summer". At that time, people often judged health only by being fat and thin. Of course, if you lose weight, you need to make up. The way to make up for it is to go to beginning of autumn, eat delicious food, and "paste the autumn fat". Of course, meat is the first choice, and "stick fat with meat". On this day, ordinary people eat stewed meat, while cultured people eat boiled meat and braised pork, as well as jiaozi, stewed chicken, stewed duck and braised fish.

In addition to beginning of autumn's "sticking autumn fertilizer", Tianjin and other places are also popular with "biting autumn". Just like "biting spring", people believe that eating melons in beginning of autumn can avoid diarrhea in winter and the following spring. There is such a record in Zhang Dao's "Customs of Tianjin Miscellaneous Notes at the Age of Years" in the Qing Dynasty: "beginning of autumn can avoid diarrhea by eating melons and biting autumn." In the Qing Dynasty, people put melons, steamed eggplants and fragrant soup in the yard the day before in beginning of autumn, and ate them in beginning of autumn to remove the heat in summer and avoid dysentery. As early as the Tang and Song Dynasties, people in beginning of autumn would send 7- 14 adzuki beans from well water on the same day, and they should face the West Railway Station to pray for diseases such as diarrhea in autumn. At present, the dietary customs of beginning of autumn vary from place to place in China. Autumn peaches used to be very popular in Hangzhou. In beginning of autumn, adults and children should eat autumn peaches, one for each person, and keep the stone after eating. On New Year's Eve, the peach pit was thrown into the stove and burned to ashes. It is thought that this will save the plague for a year. Autumn water is also popular in the east and west of Sichuan. Immediately in beginning of autumn (beginning of autumn, the specific time is marked on many old calendars), the whole family will have a drink. It is said that it can eliminate the accumulated heat in summer, and Qiu Lai has no stomachache. In Laixi, Shandong Province, beginning of autumn is popular to eat "dregs", which is a kind of small tofu made of tofu and vegetables. There is a saying that "adults and children don't spit or pull after eating beginning of autumn dregs". So many dietary customs are mostly aimed at preventing dysentery, which shows that workers in China are aware of autumn diarrhea.

"The important ceremony held in early autumn is also very interesting. Han people attach great importance to beginning of autumn Festival, and the custom of welcoming autumn in beginning of autumn has a long history, and feudal emperors in past dynasties are no exception. As early as the Zhou Dynasty, on the day of beginning of autumn, the Emperor of Heaven personally led the princes and doctors of the three kingdoms and nine nobles to the western suburbs of Beijing to welcome the autumn and offer sacrifices to Shao Gao and Ru Shou. Beginning of autumn, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty wanted to hunt, which showed Qiu Lai's intention to promote martial arts and sacrificed his prey to the ancestral temple. In the Song Dynasty, a plane tree was planted in the inner hall of the court. On the occasion of beginning of autumn, Tai Shigong began to play "Qiu Lai", so he tried to let one or two buttonwood leaves fall to show autumn. Folk wear autumn leaves, or cut the red leaves of heather into petals and put them on the temples. In addition, there is a folk saying that "beginning of autumn is freezing in the cold; Beginning of autumn night, hot cow "ballad. This means that if beginning of autumn is in the morning, it will be cool after autumn; If beginning of autumn is in the first half of the night, it will still be very hot after autumn.

Autumn alias:

High autumn (meaning crisp autumn)

Su Qiu? Bai Qiu (Mid-Autumn Festival in Five Elements Thought = Gold = White)

Bai Di (the god in charge of autumn)

Autumn (autumn = gold; Harvest? Color of plants)

Sanqiu (early autumn, mid-autumn and late autumn)

Nine autumns (autumn 90 days = three months)

The origin of autumn:

Autumn refers to the period from beginning of autumn to beginning of winter. During this period, there are six important solar terms: beginning of autumn, summer, white dew, vernal equinox, cold dew and first frost. The climate in autumn is characterized by high humidity and heat in early autumn; After the Millennium, the rain decreased, the climate was dry, and the days were hot and the nights were cool. It gets cold quickly after the cold dew.

In autumn, the most obvious change of natural landscape is in trees. The city will begin to clean up a lot of fallen leaves, and many tourists will flock to the mountains to watch the red leaves. Autumn, the third season of the year, is a transitional season from summer to winter. The lunar calendar is from beginning of autumn in July to beginning of winter in September, the solar calendar is from 9: 00 to 1 1, and the astronomical vernal equinox starts from the winter solstice.