Characteristics of the twenty-four solar terms:

The twenty-four solar terms are Beginning of Spring, Rain, Waking of Insect, Vernal Equinox, Qingming, Grain Rain, Beginning of Summer, Xiaoman, Ear, Summer Solstice, Little Heat, Great Heat, Beginning of autumn, end of heat, white dew, autumnal equinox, cold dew, frost, beginning of winter, light snow, heavy snow, winter solstice, minor cold, and severe cold. The beginning of spring, the beginning of summer, the beginning of autumn, and the beginning of winter represent the arrival of the four seasons.

The amount of rainfall increases during the rainy season, and day and night are distinct at the vernal equinox; the summer solstice represents the sun shining directly on the Tropic of Cancer, the arrival of summer, and the Great Heat is the hottest time of the year; the summer solstice represents the end of summer, and the autumnal equinox equals day and night.

The winter solstice means that winter has begun. It is the coldest time of the year. Rain, Grain Rain, white dew, cold dew, frost, light snow, and heavy snow mainly reflect the weather; Jingzhe is when most areas begin to enter the spring plowing period, and awn is when crops are mature.

Twenty-four solar terms customs:

There will be a "spring welcome" ceremony at the beginning of spring; Qingming is a solar term and an important traditional festival. On this day, many people will go outing. There is a custom of eating sour plum soup in Mangcheng; Xiaoshu is called the dog days of summer; on the frost day, the weather is getting colder, and people focus on health preservation, so there is a custom of eating red persimmons; on the winter solstice, there is a saying of eating glutinous rice balls in the south and eating dumplings in the north. ; Dahan has a saying of "food tonic".

The origin of the twenty-four solar terms:

Historically, China’s main political, economic, cultural, and agricultural activity centers were mostly concentrated in the Central Plains of the Yellow River Basin. The twenty-four solar terms are also known as It is established based on the climate and phenology of this area. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the Warring States Period, the Chinese working people had the concept of the southern solstice and the northern solstice.

Subsequently, people used the relationship between the positions of the sun and the moon at the beginning and middle of the month, as well as natural phenomena such as weather and animal and plant growth, to divide the year into 24 equal parts. And a proper name was given to each equal portion, which is the twenty-four solar terms.

In the "December Chronicle" of "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" written in the late Warring States Period, there were eight solar terms named Beginning of Spring, Vernal Equinox, Beginning of Summer, Summer Solstice, Beginning of Autumn, Autumnal Equinox, Beginning of Winter, and Winter Solstice. The eight solar terms are the most important of the twenty-four solar terms. Mark the transition of seasons and clearly delineate the four seasons of the year. By the Qin and Han Dynasties, the twenty-four solar terms had been fully established.