In the blink of an eye, the annual Beginning of Summer is here again. What are the customs and origins of Beginning of Summer? Many people must not know it, let’s take a look below!
Customs of welcoming summer
In Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, people feel sad about cherishing spring because the beautiful spring scenery has passed, so they prepare wine and food for fun, as if they are sending people away, which is called farewell. spring. Cui Yu said in his poem: "The first step to welcome summer is the end of spring." Wu Ou Ting's poem "The Beginning of Summer" also said: "There is no choice but to say that spring has gone, and we will return with cherry blossoms and bamboo shoots."
The custom of tasting new things
There is a saying in Suzhou that "see three new things at the beginning of summer". The three new things are cherries, green plums and wheat, which are used to worship ancestors. In Changshu, new foods are more abundant. There is a saying of "nine meats and thirteen vegetables". The nine meats are crucian carp, salted eggs, snails, chicken, pickled fresh meat, braised shrimps and cherry meat; the thirteen vegetables include cherries, Plums, wheat silkworms, bamboo shoots, broad beans, spear needles, peas, cucumbers, lettuce, grass heads, radishes, roses, and pine flowers. In Nantong, boiled chicken and duck eggs are eaten.
The custom of weighing people
This interesting activity is said to have originated in the Three Kingdoms period. Adou was raised by Mrs. Sun. She would weigh Adou in front of Zhao Zilong. Each cycle is based on Lixia came to assess, and then wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang to report the situation. Up to now, Lixia's weighing people are often hung on big trees, and in many cases they are weighed by the elderly and children. This is a folk custom and has become a kind of game for people.
Egg-fighting custom
Compared with other solar terms and festivals, the activity of Beginning of Summer is relatively practical. This simple game is for adults to first weave silk thread into the shape of an egg, and then put it into the egg-fighting custom. Pre-cooked eggs or duck eggs are put in, and then hung around the children's necks. Because they are fighting eggs, patterns are painted on the eggs, and people compare the drawings with each other.
The origin of Beginning of Summer
It evolved from the ancient way of establishing calendar and time.
In ancient times, there was a clock that pointed time. When its handle pointed to the southeast, it was the beginning of summer, because everything will absorb the essence of the sun and the nutrients of the earth at this time, so it is the best time to grow. Beginning of Summer represents a simple way of saying goodbye to spring and welcoming summer.