According to legend, since the day of long summer, the weather is sunny and warm, and it is getting hotter and hotter. Many people, especially children, will feel tired, lose appetite and gradually lose weight, which is called "summer". Nu Wa Niangniang told the people that every year during the Long Summer Festival, children hang cooked chicken, duck and goose eggs on their chests to escape the heat. Therefore, the custom of eating eggs in the long summer festival has continued to this day.
Peas, bamboo shoots and glutinous rice are also indispensable delicacies in this long summer. Add ham to tender peas and bamboo shoots, stir-fry and take it out, and put it in a pressure cooker with soaked glutinous rice and water. The cooked glutinous rice is salty and glutinous. Old Jinhua people say that after eating this meal, their legs are as strong as bamboo shoots, they can travel long distances, their eyes are as clear and bright as peas, and there is no disease or disaster.
4. Eating black-bone chicken In addition, there is a custom of "eating black-bone rice" in rural Nanjing and in Changsha. It is said that this originated from the story of a dutiful son. In order to let his mother eat the meal he sent in prison, the dutiful son deliberately picked the leaves of Chinese tallow on the mountain and mashed them into the meal to scare and confuse the prison guards and prevent them from eating the meal. The color of rice mixed with leaves is black, hence the name "black rice". In order to commemorate the filial piety of the dutiful son, the custom of eating "black rice" in the long summer is widely circulated.