Beginning of Summer is the seventh solar term among the twenty-four solar terms and the first solar term in summer. The Beginning of Summer Festival falls on May 5-07 of each year in the Gregorian calendar. At this time, the handle of the Big Dipper points to the southeast and the sun's ecliptic longitude reaches 45°. Below is the origin and traditional food of the Beginning of Summer solar term that I have compiled for you. I hope it will be helpful to you.

The origin of Lixia

The solar term Lixia has been established in the late Warring States Period (239 BC), which heralds the change of seasons and lasts for one year. The beginning of the four seasons of summer. According to climatological standards, summer begins when the five-day average temperature reaches 22°C. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, the temperature in the Beginning of Summer is roughly close to the climatological standard, and this area is the origin of the twenty-four solar terms. From this point of view, it is in line with the actual situation that the Beginning of Summer Festival is regarded as the beginning of summer in the Twenty-Four Solar Terms.

In the Beginning of Summer, everything flourishes. It is written in the Ming Dynasty's book "The Eight Lotuses": "On the day of Mengxia, heaven and earth begin to meet, and all things are in harmony." At this time, the summer harvest crops have entered the late growth stage, the winter wheat has bloomed and filled, and the rapeseed is close to maturity, and the summer harvest crop season is basically set. , so the farmer's proverb says "see the summer at the beginning of summer". According to records, during the Zhou Dynasty, on the day of the Beginning of Summer, the emperor would personally lead hundreds of civil and military officials to the suburbs to "welcome summer" and instruct Situ and other officials to go to various places to encourage farmers to work hard. The old custom of starting summer is also a traditional folk festival, called "Lixia Festival."

This custom was also followed in the Han Dynasty. "Book of the Later Han·Sacrifice Chronicles" records: "On the day of the Beginning of Summer to welcome summer, people in the southern suburbs hold sacrifices to the red Emperor Zhurong, all the carriages, flags and costumes are red. "Sing "Zhu Ming" and dance "Dance of Cloud Wings". By the Song Dynasty, etiquette became more complicated. In the Ming Dynasty, the custom of "taste new things" began to appear. The Qing Dynasty's "Records of the Years of the Imperial Capital" records that "at the beginning of summer, we take the spring buds of rice flour that are usually exposed to the sun, fry them with sugar noodles to make various fruit stacks, and feed them to each other." And the willow branches are pierced with fruits and stacked to make children's food. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, there is also the custom of eating flower rice in the beginning of summer, which is also called "eating tonic food". There is also a folk custom that "eating eggs at the beginning of summer will break the stones underfoot". It is said that eating eggs and duck eggs at the beginning of summer can strengthen the body and withstand the heat. Some people eat bamboo shoots in the Beginning of Summer, and some drink wine in the Beginning of Summer. They all rush to this festival, which is called "seeing three new things in the Beginning of Summer." In the old days in the south, on Beginning of Summer, each family steamed new tea, served it with various fruits, and gave it to relatives and neighbors. .

What traditional foods are eaten in the Beginning of Summer?

1. Beginning of Summer rice

Beginning of summer rice is actually five-color beans cooked with japonica rice. , because people are accustomed to eating it on the day of Beginning of Summer, so it is also called Beginning of Summer Rice. The Beginning of Summer rice contains a lot of beans, which are rich in nutrients. Eating the Beginning of Summer rice heralds a bumper harvest and good health.

2. Eggs at the beginning of summer

Eating eggs at the beginning of summer can not only withstand the test of "summer", but also bring a happy life. There is a custom of eating eggs at the beginning of summer, which can prevent common summer symptoms such as lack of appetite, tired body and limbs, and weight loss. Eggs are calm in nature, can replenish qi deficiency, and have the functions of calming the mind and nourishing the heart.

3. Beginning of Summer Tea

In order to welcome the Beginning of Summer, there is also the custom of drinking Beginning of Summer tea in Jiangxi, my country. It is said that if you don’t drink Beginning of Summer tea, you will have a miserable summer. One day, the women gathered tea from seven families and cooked and drank it together. They said that drinking tea from seven families at the beginning of summer would ensure that they would not feel sleepy throughout the summer.

4. Beginning of Summer Soup

In the Beginning of Summer, people eat soup balls made of glutinous rice flour mixed with wormwood, called "Beginning of Summer Soup". As the saying goes, "If you eat soup at the beginning of summer, you will step on the stones to form a pit." There are often strong winds around the beginning of summer, called "Dragon King Storm". When the east wind blows out on the Beginning of Summer, it is commonly believed that there will be floods. The proverb says, "The east wind blows and rains on the Beginning of Summer." If there is thunder at the beginning of summer, there will be more thunderstorms in the future. As the saying goes, "Thunder hits at the beginning of summer, and it will happen every three days."

5. Beginning of Summer Porridge

During the Beginning of Summer, every household in Leiyang, Hunan Province cooks Beginning of Summer Porridge. Beginning of Summer porridge is made of more than ten ingredients such as lean meat, vermicelli, glutinous rice balls, red dates, pork offal, dried bamboo shoots, red dates, peas, bean sprouts, etc., and is added to rice to make a fragrant porridge.

6. Beginning of Summer Fruit

Beginning of Summer Fruit, also known as Beginning of Summer Kueh, is a specialty food of the Beginning of Summer solar term in Yiyang, Jiangxi. On the day of Beginning of Summer, every household will cook a big pot of Beginning of Summer rice cakes and eat them all day long.

Lixia Kueh is steamed rice, then kneaded into small balls, then added with ingredients such as bean sprouts, dried tofu, dried shrimps, and peas to cook into "Lixia Kueh", also called Lixia Soup. According to legend, eating Lixia Kueh means welcoming spring and welcoming summer. The more varieties there are, the richer the spring harvest will be and the celebration will be more than enough.

7. Jun Ta Cai

Ningbo people still have the tradition of eating Jun Ta Cai at the beginning of summer. Jun Ta Cai is a seasonal vegetable that comes on the market around the beginning of summer. It is said that after eating Jun Ta Cai There will be no prickly heat in the summer after, and the skin will be as smooth as Junta.

8. Wheat silkworms

During the Beginning of Summer Festival, farmers in suburban counties of Shanghai take wheat flour and sugar to make inch-long strips of food, called wheat silkworms. "Xia Xia". The tender grass heads from the Beginning of Summer are mixed with rice flour and fried into pancakes, called "tan cakes", which are a favorite food of people in Shanghai and Pudong areas. Sugar plums, fermented glutinous rice, salted eggs, etc. are also regarded as seasonal foods, which are called seasonal foods. They are tasted and called "three new foods".

9. Steamed buns at the beginning of summer

According to folklore in Henan, eating steamed buns at the beginning of summer can prevent heat and summer heat, relieve summer disasters, otherwise the summer will be bitter, and you will suffer from many diseases. Therefore, every year during the Beginning of Summer, people eat Beginning of Summer steamed buns to pray for the health of their families.

10. Foot bone bamboo shoots

Eating foot bone bamboo shoots in the Beginning of Summer is a unique custom in Ningbo. Not all the bamboo shoots currently sold in the vegetable market can be used to make leg bone bamboo shoots. It is best to use wild mountain bamboo shoots or black bamboo shoots. People believe that eating foot bone bamboo shoots in the Beginning of Summer will make their foot bones strong, so this custom has been passed down.

11. Summer cakes

Summer cakes, also known as sesame cakes, come in different shapes, such as the number one scholar riding a horse, Guanyin giving a son, a monkey holding peaches, etc. Summer cakes are often used to give gifts to mothers. To a married daughter. Eating summer cakes in the Beginning of Summer means you will not get sick or lose weight during the summer.

12. Spring rolls

Spring rolls are divided into two parts: pancakes and vegetables. The roll pancakes must be freshly made hot noodle pancakes, which should be round, thin and smooth. The rolled cake must be lightly smeared with oil to prevent the cakes from sticking to each other. At the same time, it tastes smoother. With the crunchy vegetables rolled inside, it will be soft. It's hard and tastes great.

13. Noodles

During the Beginning of Summer, old Beijing eats noodles to celebrate the wheat harvest. There is a saying that goes well: When summer comes, the sky is new. It means that eating noodles at the beginning of summer can strengthen the body and bring good luck to people.

14. Tasting three delicacies

Wuxi folk have always had the custom of tasting three delicacies at the beginning of summer. The three delicacies are divided into the three delicacies of the ground, the three delicacies of the tree and the three delicacies of the water. The three delicacies of the earth are cucumbers, amaranth, and broad beans; the three delicacies of the trees are cherries, loquats, and apricots; and the three delicacies of the water are snails, anchovies, and pufferfish.

15. Dingbian paste

During the Beginning of Summer, Fuzhou people eat Dingbian paste (also known as pot side paste). They use rice milk to rinse the sides of the pot, and then add dried shrimps and fungus. , amaranth, mushrooms, clams, etc. flavored snacks. Cooking the paste on the side of the tripod is also called "making summer".

Diet precautions for the Beginning of Summer

1. Avoid eating too much raw or cold food

Summer is hot, and people especially like to eat cold food, but they often ignore the importance of cold drinks and cold food. Hygiene can easily cause gastrointestinal diseases. The elderly and children should pay special attention to the reasonable combination of meals. Eat cold foods that are easy to digest. Eating raw vegetables in summer is a good diet for many people, but you should not eat more just to get greedy for a while, otherwise it will easily lead to indigestion and gastrointestinal dysfunction (such as bloating, diarrhea, etc.)

With the heat of the day, There is indeed a great temptation to eat vegetables raw. They can be soaked in boiling water when cooking and then eaten cold (such as celery, spinach, white tofu, etc.). When making cold dishes, you can add some vinegar, ginger, salt and other seasonings. Vinegar can detoxify and promote digestion. Ginger can dispel cold and promote digestion. When making cold food, avoid using lard, tea seed oil, and rapeseed oil. Sesame oil is better. Food in summer is prone to spoilage. Vegetables must be washed, and any withered, yellow, or insect-spotted vegetables must be removed. Special attention must be paid to food hygiene in summer.

2. Avoid overeating

You can overeat but you cannot be overeating, especially dinner. The proverb says: "Eat one less bite, and you will live to ninety-nine." "The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic? Su Wen" points out: "Eat in moderation" and "do not overdo it." The digestive power of the elderly and children is not strong, and it becomes even worse in summer. If they eat too much, they cannot digest it, which can easily damage the spleen and stomach, leading to stomach problems. If you eat 80% full, your appetite will continue to increase.

3. Avoid "fruitification"

A large number of seasonal fruits are on the market in midsummer. Coupled with the hot weather and loss of appetite, many people like to eat more fruits to supplement nutrition. Many ladies who love beauty firmly believe that "eating three fruits a day can improve your body and look good", or simply use fruits to replace your diet. However, this approach is not advisable, and special attention should be paid to dietary nutrition supplements in midsummer.

Although eating fruits can absorb a lot of vitamins and water, you cannot ignore the balanced intake of other nutrients. Therefore, eating fruits should be moderate. The basic nutrients needed by the human body include carbohydrates, minerals, proteins, amino acids, etc., but eating fruits alone cannot meet the needs of these nutrients. If the diet is "fruit-based" for a long time, it will have adverse effects on the human body's endocrine system, digestive system, immune system, etc., and will also cause nutritional imbalance in the body.

Before eating fruit, it is important to disinfect and clean it. However, some pesticides or bacteria often remain in the skin of grapes, strawberries, bayberries, etc. If they are not cleaned thoroughly or poisonous fruits are eaten by mistake, you will have headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, and in severe cases, symptoms such as salivation and diarrhea. When eating fruits, cleanliness is very important. It is best to soak them in clean water for an hour (it is not advisable to use detergent or disinfectant to clean the fruits).

The body consumes a lot of energy in summer. For some special groups, they need to pay more attention when eating fruits. When choosing fruits, pregnant women should avoid eating "cold fruits" (such as frozen watermelon), otherwise they will irritate the gastrointestinal tract and cause diarrhea, which can easily lead to premature birth. There is a folk saying that "one lychee brings three fires". Lychees are warm foods. Eating too much can easily cause "inflammation", which can lead to constipation, toothache, facial scabies, oral ulcers and other diseases. Therefore, when choosing fruits, you should eat them according to your own situation.