Xiaoman is one of the twenty-four solar terms. In different regions, there are different customs for celebrating this solar term. So, do you know what customs Xiaoman has? Next, let’s learn about Xiaoman’s solar term customs and dietary customs with the editor.

Xiaoman’s solar term customs Xiaoman’s solar term custom 1: Eating bitter herbs

The spring breeze blows, the bitter herbs grow, and the deserted land is a granary. Bitter vegetables are one of the earliest wild vegetables eaten by Chinese people. "Book of Zhou": Bitter vegetables show on Xiaoman's day. "The Book of Songs": Picking up the bitterness, picking up the bitterness, under the first Yang. It is said that Wang Baochuan ate bitter vegetables in a cold kiln for 18 years in order to survive. In the old society, farmers had to rely on hard vegetables to satisfy their hunger every spring when there was a shortage of crops. Bitter vegetables taste bitter, although they are unpleasant to the mouth, they are better than the jejunum. During the Long March, the Red Army ate bitter vegetables to satisfy their hunger and overcame difficulties one after another. There was a song in Jiangxi Soviet Area singing: bitter vegetables, with yellow flowers, were used as both wild vegetables and food. The Red Army ate them and went to the battlefield, killing the enemy bravely. Win the battle. Ku Ku Cai is known as "Red Army Cuisine" and "Long March Cuisine".

Bitter grass is found all over the country. In medicine, it is called soybean grass. People in Ningxia call it "Buchicai", people in Shaanxi call it "Bitter Macai", and Li Shizhen calls it "Heavenly Herb". Mr. Nie Fengqiao, a famous Chinese gourmet, discovered the yellow-flowered Kucai in Ningxia in 1958, which was named "Sweet Kucai". It has large leaves, crisp stems, and is bitter yet sweet. It has many advantages over the common bittersweet with blue flowers.

Bitter vegetables are bitter and astringent, astringent and sweet, fresh and refreshing, cool and tender, rich in nutrients, and contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, choline, sugars, and nuclei needed by the human body. Flavin and mannitol, etc., have the functions of clearing away heat, cooling blood and detoxifying. "Compendium of Materia Medica" (Compendium of Materia Medica): Taking it for a long time can help you feel at ease and replenish your qi, lighten your body and resist aging. Kucai is often used in medicine to treat fever, and the ancients also used it to sober up. Ningxia people like to blanch bitter vegetables, eat them cold, and mix them with salt, vinegar, spicy oil or minced garlic. They are cool and spicy, and can be eaten with steamed buns or rice to increase appetite. You can also use yellow rice soup to pickle bitter vegetables into yellow color. It tastes sour and sweet, crisp, tender and refreshing. Some people also boil the bitter vegetables in boiling water and squeeze out the bitter juice, which is used to make soup, stuffing, stir-fry, and noodles, each with its own flavor.

Xiaoman solar term custom 2: harvesting bananas

During the Xiaoman solar term, black pomfret can be caught in the waters near Changhua, Taiwan, and flying fish can be caught in Suao in the northeast and in the southern waters. Bananas in Qishan, Meinong and other places in Kaohsiung County have entered their peak production period. Taiwan is a famous banana producer, and many bananas are exported to all over the world every year.

Xiaoman solar term custom 3: Sacrificing three gods

Xiaoman has a custom in our history called sacrificing three carts. The three carts are called water carts, ox carts and silk carts.

No matter what the god of the waterwheel is called, it is said that the "god of the waterwheel" is a white dragon. Farmers place fish, meat, incense, etc. on the base of the waterwheel in front of the waterwheel to worship it. The special thing is that it is a sacrifice. There is a cup of white water in it, which is poured into the field during the ceremony to wish for a prosperous water source. The above old customs show that farmers attach great importance to water conservancy, drainage and irrigation.

There is a saying in the Jiangnan area that "Xiaoman moves three cars". It is an image summary of Xiaoman's farming in Jiangnan. The so-called "three vehicles" are water wheels, spinning wheels, and oil wheels. In agricultural proverbs, people use "man" to refer to the abundance of rain. Xiaoman is the time for top dressing of early rice and transplanting of mid-season rice in the south of the Yangtze River. If the fields are not full of water, the field ridges will become cracked, making it impossible to transplant rice, affecting the harvest of crops. Therefore, in drought years, people will think early and make clever arrangements to use human or animal power to drive waterwheels to irrigate the paddy fields. In the past, when walking by the paddy fields in the remote ancient town of Jiangnan, one would often see water buffaloes blindfolded and turning the wooden cart plate of the water wheel to drive the keel water wheel to lift water, or people using their feet alternately on bicycles to lift water.

Xiaoman Festival Custom 4: The Birthday of the Silkworm God

Xiaoman Festival is said to be the birthday of the Silkworm God, so on this day, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas in my country, which are famous for sericulture, are also very lively. The Xiaoman Festival is in early summer, when silkworm cocoons are formed and are waiting to be picked and reeled. Planting mulberry and raising silkworms is a traditional sideline in rural areas in Jiangnan. Silkworms are treasures all over their bodies and are the source of food for the villagers. People are full of anticipation and gratitude for them. . Therefore, this festival is full of rich silk folk customs.

According to records, in the seventh year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1827), the Shengze Silk Industry Office in Jiangnan built the Silkworm Temple. A theater building was specially built in the temple, and a wing building (equivalent to a box in a theater) was set up on the side of the building. The stone square below the stage can accommodate 10,000 people to watch the show. The three days before and after Xiao Man were funded by the Silk Industry Corporation, and each class was invited to perform on the stage to sing a big drama. However, there is also a taboo in the acting industry, that is, dramas with plots about illegitimate children and dead people cannot be staged, because "private" and "death" are both The homophony of "Si" means that the plays performed in the three days are all auspicious plays that have been carefully selected by the directors of the Silk Industry Company to bring good luck.

Xiao Man's food custom: The spring breeze blows, and the bitter herbs come. Long, the wilderness is a granary. "Book of Zhou": "Bitter vegetables show" on the day of Xiaoman. I have been eating bitter vegetables in cold kilns for 18 years. In the old society, when the harvest was lean, farmers had to rely on bitter vegetables to satisfy their hunger. Kukucai satisfies hunger and overcomes difficulties one after another. There is a song in the Soviet area of ??Jiangxi: Kukucai has yellow flowers and is used as a wild vegetable and as food. The Red Army ate it and went to the battlefield. It was praised for its bravery in killing the enemy and winning the battle. It is known as "Red Army Cuisine" and "Long March Cuisine"

Bitter cauliflower is spread all over the country. In medicine, it is called sour pickle, people in Ningxia call it "kukucai", and people in Shaanxi call it "kurmacai". , Li Shizhen called it "Heavenly Herb". In 1958, Mr. Nie Fengqiao, a famous Chinese gourmet, discovered the yellow-flowered Kucai, named "Sweet Kucai", with large leaves, crisp stems, and sweetness. Compared with the common bitter vegetables with blue flowers, it has many advantages.

Bitter and astringent, astringent and sweet, fresh and refreshing, cool and tender, rich in nutrients, and contains human body. The required multivitamins, minerals, choline, sugars, riboflavin and mannitol have the functions of clearing away heat, cooling blood and detoxifying. "Compendium of Materia Medica": (Bitter vegetable) is taken for a long time, reassuring and replenishing qi, and is light. Bitter vegetables are often used in medicine to treat fever. Ningxia people like to boil the bitter vegetables, wash them cold and mix them with salt, vinegar, spicy oil or minced garlic. They are cool and spicy. Steamed buns and rice can increase people's appetite. They can also use yellow rice soup to pickle the bitter vegetables, which taste sour and sweet, crisp and refreshing. Some people also boil the bitter vegetables in boiling water and squeeze out the bitter juice. It is used to make soups, stuffings, stir-fries, and noodles, each with its own flavor.

Black pomfret can be caught in the waters near Changhua, Taiwan, and flying fish can be caught in Suao in the northeast and in the southern waters. . Bananas in Qishan, Meinong and other places in Kaohsiung County have entered their peak production period. Taiwan is a famous banana producer, and many bananas are exported to all over the world every year.

Food suitable for Xiaoman 1. Shepherd's Purse and Ginger Fish Head Soup

Ingredients: One crucian carp head, 250 grams of shepherd's purse, a piece of ginger, appropriate amount of salt and water.

Method: Split the fish head in half and remove. Wash the gills with clean water and set aside. Pick and wash the shepherd's purse and set aside. Cut the ginger into thicker slices and set aside. Put half a pot of water in the pot and bring to a boil. Add the fish head and ginger slices and continue to cook for 5 minutes, then turn to low heat and simmer. Cook for about 5-10 minutes; turn to high heat again, add shepherd's purse, turn off the heat after the shepherd's purse is cooked, add a small amount of salt to taste and then eat.

Efficacy: The Xiaoman solar term is unbearably hot and humid, so the shepherd's purse fish head soup is refreshing. Remove dampness. Choose shepherd's purse, which can clear away heat and dampness, and pair it with the fish head, which can achieve the purpose of clearing away heat, diuresis, appetizing, and warming.

2. Smilax poria and double bean lean pork

Ingredients: 30 grams of Smilax cocos, 50 grams of dehumidified beans, 30 grams of adzuki beans, 14 tangerine peels, 300 grams of lean pork, 3 slices of ginger.

Method: soak and wash Smilax cocos, Qushi beans and adzuki beans, remove tangerine peel pulp; wash lean pork, cut into pieces, put it into a clay pot together with ginger, add 2500 ml of water ( (about 10 bowls), bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for about an hour and a half, then add an appropriate amount of salt.

Efficacy: It has the effects of clearing heat, removing dampness, and detoxifying. It is also a health-preserving soup for families in late spring to remove dampness and strengthen the spleen. It is suitable for men, women, and children.

3. Bitter Melon and Pork Ribs Soup

Ingredients: 4 fresh bitter melons, 500 grams of pork ribs.

Method: Remove the pulp from fresh bitter gourd, wash it, and cut it into pieces. Wash and cut the pork ribs into pieces, add the ingredients, put it into a pot of boiling water, and simmer it over a slow fire.

Efficacy: It has the effects of clearing the heart, purging fire, and detoxifying. It is effective for people with high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, chronic hepatitis and summer indigestion.

4. Beetroot, potato and tomato soup

Ingredients: 300g beetroot, 200~250g potato, 2 tomatoes, 400g lean pork, 3 pieces of ginger piece.

Method: Wash everything; take the leaves and stems from beetroot; peel and cut potatoes; cut tomatoes into pieces; cut lean meat into pieces. Add 2000 ml of water (about 8 bowls), ginger, potatoes, and lean meat into the clay pot. Bring to a boil over high heat and then simmer over low heat for about 1 hour. Add beetroot leaves and tomatoes, continue to simmer for 10 minutes, and add salt. That’s it. For 3~4 people.

The phenology of the Xiaoman solar term is "Xiaoman's three periods": the first period is when bitter vegetables appear, the second period is when weeds die, and the third period is when the mild heat comes.

Bitter vegetables show: "Piya" uses tea as a bitter vegetable. "Mao Shi" said: "Who says tea is bitter?" That's right. Bao said: "It tastes bitter due to the smell of fire." "Erya" said: "Those who are not glorious but practical are called beautiful, and those who are proud but not practical are called Ying." This bitter vegetable should be called Ying. Bao said: "It tastes bitter due to the smell of fire." Cai Yong's "Yue Ling" refers to bitter vegetables.

The death of overgrown grass: Zheng Kangcheng and Bao Jingxiang both said: overgrown grass is a genus of Tingli. "Book of Rites" notes: "The branches and leaves of grass are thin and slender." Fang said: "Anything that is born in response to yang is strong and upright; anything that is born in response to yin is soft and slender." It is called slender grass. , then it is born from the ultimate yin, so it cannot defeat the ultimate yang and die.

Originally it was the Xiaoshu solstice, but later the "Jin Shi Zhi" changed it to the Maiqiu solstice. "Yue Ling": "Wheat autumn arrives in April; Xiaoshu arrives in May. Xiaoman is the mid-Qi of April, so it is changed. Autumn is the time when all the grains are ripe. Although it is summer at this time, it is the time for wheat. Autumn means it is autumn for wheat."

From the perspective of climate characteristics, from the Xiaoman solar term to the next Mangzhong solar term, all parts of the country gradually enter summer, the temperature difference between the north and the south further narrows, and precipitation further increases.