What are the early and late Beginnings of Autumn?
The Beginning of Autumn is divided into early Beginning of Autumn and late Beginning of Autumn in solar terms. The main difference lies in the time of Beginning of Autumn, because the time of Beginning of Autumn is not fixed every year. It will come in the morning or evening, so the Beginning of Autumn is called early Beginning of Autumn and late Beginning of Autumn. However, different regions and different algorithms have different definitions of the early and late Beginning of Autumn.
In some places, it is calculated based on the arrival time of the Beginning of Autumn. If it is before 12 o'clock, it is the early Beginning of Autumn, and if it is after 12 o'clock, it is the late Beginning of Autumn.
But here we calculate based on the month, because the lunar calendar time is not fixed, but the solar calendar time is fixed, and the Beginning of Autumn solar term mostly comes in June to July of the Gregorian calendar. If the Beginning of Autumn comes in June of the lunar calendar, it is early. In July of the lunar calendar, it is the late Beginning of Autumn, so it is difficult to agree on whether it is early or late.
What is the significance of the Beginning of Autumn?
1. Avoid walking in the fields
Because the Beginning of Autumn is the first season of autumn and also represents the harvest season, the taboos related to the Beginning of Autumn solar term are all related to the autumn harvest. In Yunnan, it is forbidden to walk in the fields on the first day of autumn, while in Henan, Jiangsu, and Hubei, thunder, rain, and windy weather are avoided on the first day of autumn, which is considered to be detrimental to the harvest after autumn.
2. Avoid cold food
On the day of the Beginning of Autumn, there is a custom of chewing autumn melons. In order to welcome the arrival of autumn and hope that the weather will turn cooler quickly, we use the method of "gnawing autumn" to welcome the arrival of autumn. Clear away heat and avoid dysentery. Because the temperature is still relatively high at the beginning of autumn, the human body's metabolism has also changed in order to adapt to the changes in weather, so we must pay attention to gastrointestinal health. Watermelon is a relatively cold fruit, so we should try to avoid eating watermelon after the beginning of autumn.
3. Avoid intercourse
The ancients were particularly particular about intercourse, and in ancient times there was a saying that intercourse was taboo on the day of Beginning of Autumn. The ancients believed that having sex on the same day would not only have a greater physical impact on both men and women, but would also have a negative impact on the fortunes of both parties.
Weather changes at the Beginning of Autumn:
The main change in the weather after the Beginning of Autumn is that the weather gradually turns cooler, the temperature difference between morning and evening is larger, and autumn tiger weather occurs.
There is a folk saying that "the cool breeze arrives on the 3rd day of the Beginning of Autumn", but after the Beginning of Autumn, most areas still have sunny and cloudy weather, with no obvious rainfall, and the temperature can still reach 31-33℃ , the daily average temperature is still on the high side, and the weather is still "sultry". However, due to the larger temperature difference between morning, evening and midday, people's body temperature will be lower in the morning and night than in previous days.
Autumn tiger weather will appear after the beginning of autumn. Autumn tiger refers to the short-term hot weather after the beginning of autumn in my country. It usually occurs at the turn of August and September and lasts for about 7-15 days, and then the weather becomes cooler and cooler.