Li Qiulin's "Song of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms"

Today, August 8, is the Beginning of Autumn. Beginning of Autumn is the 13th solar term among the twenty-four solar terms. It is the end of the last month of the Ganzhi calendar and the beginning of the Shen month. The time is around the first day of July in the lunar calendar (between August 7-9 in the Gregorian calendar). Beginning of Autumn is the first solar term in autumn.

Making glutinous rice cakes: During the Beginning of Autumn, every household in many Hakka rural areas will use the best glutinous rice to make a delicious glutinous rice cake to celebrate the autumn. One is that the farm work of summer harvest and planting has come to an end, so you can relax your tired mood, and it also means that it is the beginning of autumn, and the stressful farm work is over. The other is that glutinous rice has the effect of refreshing and moisturizing the lungs.

First, rice was steamed in a wooden steamer. When I was a child, carpenters used to come to the village from time to time. Make wooden steamers and other wooden products. After steaming the rice grains, you will feel the fragrance of rice. Pour it into a stone mortar and prepare to beat it. Use a wooden pestle to pound the rice until the rice is as sticky as mud and can be stirred continuously. It is commonly known as " Beating glutinous rice". The rice has been pounded until it is as sticky as mud, full of tenacity, and will not break even if you try it...

When eating glutinous rice cake, dip it in sesame seeds, peanuts, and sugar and you can eat it. It tastes fragrant, sweet and delicious. , soothe the Qi and the stomach...

Celebrating the wandering gods: In the old days, when the Hakka people celebrated the Autumn Festival, they often held a parade divine activity. Among them, the most influential ones are the "carrying the prince" activities in Songyuan, Meixian County and other places. "Carrying the Duke" is locally called Guo Yue Ban. From the beginning of autumn until the end of September in the lunar calendar, villages of each surname take turns celebrating the first half of the month.

During this period, each village took turns carrying Prince Longyuan on his trip, which was very grand. A few days before carrying the king, each village sent representatives to the palace to discuss and decide on the date of welcoming the god and the specific distribution of the statues. They then returned to the village to inform their relatives and friends, asking them to come and participate in the celebration.

On the day of carrying the prince, people wore new clothes, new shoes, new hats, and some even wore makeup and costumes. The whole village formed a long procession to welcome the gods, holding two big red and black flags, holding high the "avoid" and "quiet" signs, followed closely by lanterns, gongs, drums, flute players, etc., guarded by dragon flags and colorful flags, and marched all the way. Playing music and playing games for fun, it’s so lively.

After the prince entered the village, he first stopped at each house for the villagers to worship, and then placed it in the ancestral hall for two to three days. The last day is called "Respecting the Duke". A grand ceremony will be held in the morning, and a "blessing message" will be read out, which means praying for spring and autumn. Then the whole village will send the prince back to Longyuan Palace.

Of course, don’t just eat, drink and have fun, we Meizhou Hakkas celebrate the beginning of autumn In fact, there are still many taboos ~

As the proverb goes: "In autumn with blind eyes (referring to the beginning of autumn at night), there are sweet potatoes and taro; in autumn with light eyes (Referring to the beginning of autumn in the daytime), rice and grains are there. "That is to say, if the beginning of autumn is at night, only sweet potatoes, taro and other miscellaneous grains can be harvested that year, while if the beginning of autumn is during the day, there will be a good harvest of grains. By the way: Contrary to us, the Hakka people in southern Jiangxi are the rare ones who like the beginning of autumn at night and are taboo about the beginning of autumn during the day. The proverb goes: "In blind autumn (referring to the beginning of autumn at night), everything is there; in white-eyed autumn (referring to the beginning of autumn during the day), harvest in half." A Hakka proverb in Boluo County, Huizhou goes: "Autumn in the day will bring crops, and autumn in the night will bring grain. "If the Beginning of Autumn occurs during the day, dryland crops such as panci will be better. If the Beginning of Autumn occurs at night, the rice harvest will be good and a bumper harvest will be expected.

There is a proverb among Meizhou Hakkas: “When thunder strikes autumn, harvest in half.

That is to say, if there is thunder in the sky when the beginning of autumn comes, it is an ominous omen for the failure of the late rice harvest. There are also other Hakka areas that say: "Thunder in autumn, hammer, beat, beat; thunder in autumn, no matter how good the seedlings are, they will be half harvested." "That is to say, if there is thunder after the beginning of autumn, it means a good harvest (beat, beat, beat, means there is a lot of grain); if there is thunder before the beginning of autumn, it will be useless no matter how good the late rice seedlings are, and the harvest will be bad (more grains).

As the proverb goes: “There will be rain at the beginning of autumn but it will not dry up in autumn. "This proverb points out that if it rains at the beginning of autumn, it will not be dry throughout the autumn, which is a sign of a poor harvest of late rice seedlings. On this taboo, the Hakka people in southern Jiangxi agree with us. The proverb goes: "Raining at the beginning of autumn means that autumn will be cold", "Rain at the beginning of autumn will make autumn cold", "Rain at the beginning of autumn will make autumn cold". It lasts for eighteen days. "It also points out that if it rains at the beginning of autumn, the autumn will be cold early, and the roots of the late rice seedlings that have been planted will rot, resulting in a failure of the late rice harvest.

The eight-character formula for health preservation at the beginning of autumn: Moisturizing, nourishing the lungs, nourishing yin, and rich in acidity

Lotus root is the first choice for moisturizing: the eating method of lotus root is "appropriate for both raw and cooked fruits". It tastes sweet and cool to the lungs; it can be eaten with glutinous rice, Steamed with honey, it becomes pink and transparent, soft, glutinous and moist. It is a delicious autumn side dish; stewed with pork ribs in soup, it is good for the spleen and appetizers, rich in nutrients, and is suitable for people with weak spleen and stomach to nourish and maintain health;

Almonds are the first choice for nourishing the lungs: It is best to cook porridge with barley at a ratio of 1:5 and drink it when it is warm; stew it with pig lungs in soup, which also has a nourishing and soothing effect. Of course, it can be used as a snack. You can also eat some roasted almonds. Sweet almonds and roasted large almonds can be purchased in supermarkets and farmers’ markets. Bitter almonds are generally sold in traditional Chinese medicine stores and should be taken under the guidance of a doctor.

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Honey is the first choice for nourishing yin: Honey can be directly mixed into warm water for drinking, or it can be mixed with freshly squeezed juice. Remove the core of the pear and pour it. Covered with honey and steamed, it can replenish the deficiency of lung yin. It is also good to add honey to cold dishes such as tomatoes; honey can also be mixed with seasonal fruits and taste delicious;

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