Summer solstice activities
Sacrifice to the gods and ancestors
The summer solstice is the harvest of wheat. Since ancient times, it has been the custom to celebrate the harvest and offer sacrifices to ancestors at this time in order to pray for a good year. Therefore, the summer solstice, as a festival, was included in the ancient ritual of offering sacrifices to the gods. "Zhou Li Chun Guan" contains: "With the arrival of summer, to local things." In the Zhou Dynasty, the summer solstice offered sacrifices to the gods, meaning to eliminate famine, hunger and death. The summer solstice is just after the wheat harvest. Farmers not only thank the God-given harvest, but also pray for the "autumn report". Around the summer solstice, some places held a grand "Summer Wheat Festival", which is the remains of the ancient "Summer Festival" activities.
Avoid summer and crouch
On the summer solstice, women give each other folding fans, powder and other things. "Youyang Miscellaneous. Different Rites": "On the summer solstice, there are words when you enter the fan and powder fat bag." "Fan" to generate wind; "Powder fat" is applied to disperse turbid gas caused by body heat and prevent prickly heat. In the imperial court, after the "Summer Solstice", the royal family took out the ice that was "stored in winter and used in summer" to "shelter from summer", and it was used by dynasties from the Zhou Dynasty and became a system.
"Summer solstice" food
"Wheat Zongzi" and "Summer solstice cake": Jiangnan food customs, generally including wheat Zongzi, corn millet, plums, wonton, noodle soup and so on. "Wujiang County Records": "On the summer solstice, make wheat dumplings. When the sacrifice is finished first, you will pay for it." Not only eat "wheat dumplings", but also give "wheat dumplings" as gifts to each other.
On the day of the summer solstice, farmers also roll pancakes, bake them, add vegetables, pods, tofu and bacon, and eat them after ancestor worship, which is commonly called "summer solstice cake" or give them to relatives and friends.
Dongzhi wonton Xiazhi noodles
Since ancient times, China folks have said "Winter Solstice Wonton Noodle on Summer Solstice". Eating Noodle on Summer Solstice is an important custom in many areas in the south of the Yangtze River. There is a saying that "eating Noodle on Summer Solstice makes a day shorter". There are many kinds of noodles in the south, such as Yangchun noodles, dry soup noodles, shredded pork noodles, three fresh noodles, noodles with sesame oil and cold noodles, while noodles with gravy and Zhajiang Noodles are in the north. "Because the new wheat on the summer solstice has appeared, eating noodles on the summer solstice also means tasting new things."
Health knowledge of summer solstice solar terms
1, proper exercise
The best time for exercise is in the early morning or in the evening when the weather is cooler. The venue can be in places with fresh air such as rivers and lakes, parks and courtyards. Walking, playing Tai Ji Chuan and doing broadcast gymnastics are the best exercise items, and strenuous exercise is not suitable.
2. Take sun protection measures when going out
At this time, the public should avoid exposure to strong sunlight. When going out, they should take sun protection measures, such as umbrellas, sun hats and sunscreen. Keep some Dan, Huoxiang Zhengqi water, ten drops of water, cool oil and so on with you. In addition, from the color of clothing, it is best to wear red clothes, because red clothes can absorb a lot of ultraviolet rays in the sun, thus protecting the skin and preventing skin aging or even cancer.
3. Be cool
This refers to clothing and living environment. Don't wear too thick clothes in summer. Many young people like to wear denim clothes, which is not suitable for summer. The color of clothes should be mainly light, so as to absorb less heat. Try to choose cotton and linen as the fabric of clothes, which is easy to absorb sweat and breathe. The room should be cool, and the indoor temperature is low in the morning and evening. The doors and windows should be opened and ventilated. At noon, the outdoor temperature is higher than the indoor temperature, so doors and windows should be closed and curtains should be drawn. A cool environment will make people feel calm and secure.
4. Go to bed late and get up early to take a nap
At this time, the public's daily recuperation should conform to the changes in nature, and should go to bed late and get up early, while the old and the weak should go to bed early and get up early, and try to keep about 7 hours of sleep every day. From this day on, you must take a nap. In the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, noon sleep is to nourish yin with yang, and child sleep is to nourish yang with yin. As long as you can close your eyes for a while, you can achieve a good effect of nourishing yin.
5, rest and adjust your heart
According to the five elements theory of traditional Chinese medicine, summer is the season of nourishing the heart. Psychologists believe that summer is hot, so it is more appropriate to adjust your breath and calm down, and it should be "always like ice and snow in your heart", that is, "peace of mind is naturally cool." Listening to slow music is a good way to adjust your breath. The notes in music also contain elements of yin and yang and five elements. Contrary to the effect that fast-paced music can enhance the yang in the body and help people get excited, soothing music can help slow down breathing and rest the heart.
6. Take a warm bath
Taking a bath in warm water every day is also a fitness measure worth promoting, which can not only wash away sweat and dirt, but also make the skin clean and cool, relieve summer heat and prevent diseases, and also play the role of exercising. Because, the water pressure and mechanical massage in warm water bath can reduce the excitability of nervous system, dilate blood vessels on the body surface, accelerate blood circulation, improve the nutrition of skin and tissues, reduce muscle tension, eliminate fatigue, improve sleep and enhance resistance.
7, avoid lying in the cold at night.
Don't sleep at night and turn on the air conditioner all night. This habit can easily lead to colds, facial paralysis, joint pain, abdominal pain and diarrhea, which is serious to the body. Don't even fan the wind to cool children after they fall asleep, otherwise, they are prone to hand and foot convulsions, mouth gagging, wind arthralgia and other diseases, and people often don't know its harm. The so-called deep love is very harmful. The proverb "Avoid the wind like an arrow, avoid the color like chaos, add and subtract clothes on time, and eat less after meals" can all be understood as the health requirements in summer.
Summer solstice diet taboo
1, strengthening spleen and eliminating dampness
After the summer solstice, "summer heat is full of dampness". In diet, we should give priority to nourishing, strengthen the spleen, and eliminate summer heat and dampness as the principle. The spleen governs the transport of dampness, and the spleen and stomach function well, so excess moisture can be transported out.
2. Prevent heatstroke
In the hot summer, a series of physiological function changes will occur in the body's temperature regulation, water and salt metabolism and digestive system. So we should pay special attention to heatstroke prevention.
3. Prevention of cardiovascular diseases
Chinese medicine believes that the main fire in summer should be in the heart; Western medicine also believes that in hot weather, the blood flow in the body will accelerate and increase the heart load. Therefore, at the beginning of the summer solstice, we should maintain our heart and adjust our mood, and we should not be angry at will to prevent hypertension and cerebrovascular accidents.
4, prevent greed and cold, and get air-conditioned diseases.
People sweat a lot or relax their pores after taking a bath. At this time, if the air conditioner is turned on too hard, the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor is too large, which is easy to cause a cold. Generally, the difference between air conditioning temperature and outdoor temperature is 4℃.
5. Prevention of fever and eczema
The hot and humid weather in the summer solstice provides conditions for the onset of skin diseases, and it is also easy to cause beriberi, eczema and other diseases. Usually, we should pay attention to the choice of clothing materials to avoid staying in wet places for a long time.
It is said that it will be cold for a "summer", but we can't ignore our health just for a moment. Everything should be moderate, and once it is excessive, it will easily lead to various problems. I hope that after reading this article, you should pay more attention on the summer solstice and don't get sick!