What traditional snacks are eaten at the beginning of autumn? What custom foods are eaten at the beginning of autumn

1. Eat autumn peaches

Peach is rich in iron and has a certain blood-enriching effect. In the Jiangnan area, there is a custom of eating autumn peaches at the beginning of autumn. At the beginning of autumn, both adults and children eat autumn peaches, one for each person, and keep the core after eating. On New Year's Eve, the peach stones are thrown into the stove and burned to ashes. People think that this can avoid the plague for a year.

2. Eating watermelon

In the south, there is a custom of "eating autumn melons at the beginning of autumn". Eat more watermelons on this day of autumn to prevent autumn dryness, which has become a custom over time. "Capital Chronicles" published during the Republic of China records: "On the day before the beginning of autumn, eating watermelon is called eating autumn." It also means to welcome the arrival of autumn.

3. Eating "Zha"

It is popular in Laixi, Shandong Province to eat "Zha" in the Beginning of Autumn, a kind of small tofu made from minced beans and green vegetables, and there is also the saying "Eat the Beginning of Autumn" There is a saying that adults and children don’t vomit or poop.” Autumn is a period of high incidence of gastrointestinal diseases, and folk customs in many areas have the meaning of curing diseases and praying for a healthy year. Sichuan and Shandong are typical representatives of this type of folk custom.

4. Dumplings

At the beginning of autumn, of course, you must "grab autumn fat" to make dumplings. Dumplings are a very popular food. Eating dumplings at the beginning of autumn is called "grabbing autumn fat". You grab a dumpling from me and I grab a dumpling from you. People think that this can make themselves strong.

5. Eating red beans

Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, there is also the custom of eating small red beans with well water at the beginning of autumn. Take seven to fourteen small adzuki beans and swallow them with well water. Face west when taking it. It is said that you can avoid dysentery throughout the autumn. There is a folk custom of divining whether the weather will be hot or cold at the beginning of autumn. Cui Yan of the Eastern Han Dynasty's "Four People's Monthly Order": "At the beginning of autumn in the morning, it is chilly; at the beginning of autumn at night, it is extremely hot."

6. Eat eggs

In addition, on the day of the beginning of autumn, in other parts of our country, There are also customs in the area such as eating eggs and peaches. Eggs are calm in nature, can replenish qi deficiency, and have the function of calming the mind and nourishing the heart.

7. Eat "Fuyuan"

The Beginning of Autumn is the peak season for longan in Taiwan. People believe that after eating longan meat, their descendants will become high-ranking officials, and longan is also called "Fuyuan", so there is a proverb: Eating Fuyuan will give birth to children and grandchildren.

8. Eating eggplants

The folk custom of eating eggplants at the beginning of autumn comes from a legend in the Ming Dynasty. Legend has it that after General Xu Da of the Ming Dynasty captured Beiping, the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, a soldier under General Chang Yuchun stole a melon from a farmer. Chang Yuchun is very strict in military management, and the soldier who steals the melons will be sentenced to death. At this time, the farmer came out and said that there was a custom in Yuan Dynasty, and picking up melons at the beginning of autumn was not considered stealing. When Chang Yuchun heard this, he pardoned the soldier. Unexpectedly, as soon as it was said that those who pick up melons at the beginning of autumn are not guilty, other soldiers began to snatch melons. In order to reward the soldiers, Chang Yuchun found a substitute for autumn fat-the only eggplant among vegetables that has a meaty and meaty taste. Therefore, the folk custom of eating eggplants at the beginning of autumn has been passed down.

9. Eating cool cakes

In the hearts of Jinhua citizens, eating watermelon and cool cakes at the beginning of autumn is an indispensable traditional custom. What is cool cake? It is boiled with sweet potato starch into a soup shape and poured into a bowl. Wait until the next morning to form a whole piece. From a distance, it looks like a piece of round and clear white jade. Then it is cut into small pieces and sprinkled with sugar, vinegar and mint. It is cool, refreshing, sweet and sour and appetizing.

10. Drinking "Autumn Water"

It is also popular in eastern and western Sichuan to drink "Liqiu Water". That is, at the beginning of autumn, the whole family, young and old, each drinks a cup. It is said that it can eliminate accumulated summer heat. , Autumn comes without stomach upset.

Customs of the Beginning of Autumn

1. Posting autumn fat

It is popular among the people to weigh themselves on the Beginning of Autumn and compare it with the weight at the Beginning of Summer. With the autumn wind, my appetite is whetted, and I want to eat something good to make up for the losses in summer. The way to make up for it is to "put on autumn fat": eat delicious delicacies, and of course meat is the first choice. The so-called "meat to put on fat".

2. Weighing water

In the old days, people filled containers of the same size with water before and after the Beginning of Autumn, and then weighed them. If the water before the Beginning of Autumn is heavy, it means there is heavy submerged water, and there will be less rain in autumn; if the water is heavy after the Beginning of Autumn, there will be more rain in autumn, which may lead to autumn floods.

3. Autumn Busy Meeting

The Beginning of Autumn Busy Meeting is one of the customs of the Beginning of Autumn. It is usually held in the seventh and eighth months of the lunar calendar. It is a business and trade meeting to prepare for the autumn busy season. The purpose is to exchange production tools, sell livestock, exchange food and daily necessities, etc.

4. Weighing people by hanging scales

During the Qing Dynasty, it was popular among the people in Jiaxing to use hanging scales to weigh children on this day, and then compare their weights with those at the Beginning of Summer. Fat or thin, weight loss is called "bitter summer". At that time, people believed that since they were thin, they needed to "make up for it", which was commonly known as "autumn fat" at the beginning of autumn.

5. Standing Loach

Wuxi people also have an interesting saying that they will meet Standing Loach on the day of Beginning of Autumn. If there are strong winds and heavy rains in autumn, the loaches in the rice fields will stand upright in the water on the first day of autumn.