Xia Meng, also known as early summer, refers to April in the lunar calendar. There are four seasons in the lunar calendar, including Meng, Zhong and Ji. The three months of the lunar summer are April, May and June, which are called Xia Meng, Midsummer and the last month of summer respectively. Summer is the second season of the year, and it is the best season for many crops to grow vigorously. Adequate illumination and suitable temperature provide necessary conditions for plants.

Xia Meng includes two solar terms, Long Summer and Xiaoman. At this time, the weather is getting hotter and everything is thriving. Long summer is a symbol of the turn of spring and summer. At this time, just after spring, the sun is getting more and more prosperous, and everything is showing a vigorous growth trend. The second month of summer is called midsummer, which indicates that the midsummer season with high temperature and high fever is coming.

Traditional customs in Xia Meng:

1, Summer Welcome Ceremony

The word "summer" in "long summer" means "big", which means that the plants sown in spring have grown upright. In ancient times, people attached great importance to the customs and habits of long summer. In ancient times, on the day of long summer, the ancient emperor would lead hundreds of officials to the southern suburbs of Beijing to welcome summer and hold a ceremony to welcome summer.

2. Xia Xia rope

In the old society, colored silk thread was tied to children's wrists and other places in summer, which meant that diseases in summer could not be avoided. This kind of silk thread is called "summer sickness rope" and "long life thread".

3. The Weigher by Chang Xia

There is also a custom of weighing people in the long summer. People hang scales under outdoor trees to weigh children and old people and test their physical changes over the past year. There is a stool hanging on the scale hook, and everyone takes turns sitting on the stool to weigh people. When weighing flowers, the caller said auspicious words.

Baidu encyclopedia-early summer