Folk customs in early autumn
1, weighing water
In the past, Suqian people used to put water in containers the same size before and after beginning of autumn, and then weigh them. If there is more water in front of beginning of autumn, it means there is more water, so there will be less rain in autumn. If there is a lot of water behind beginning of autumn, there will be more rain in autumn, which may lead to autumn waterlogging. In Huai 'an, fishermen on the lake also have the habit of beginning of autumn calling for water. According to the water quality, the autumn water rises and falls, and the weight of water is an ominous sign. Old autumn waters sell fishing nets.
Step 2 eat eggs
In addition, on this day in early autumn, other parts of our country also have the custom of eating eggs and peaches. Eggs have the effect of calming the nerves and nourishing the heart. Eggs are harmless to the spleen and stomach, and are suitable for infants, pregnant women, lying-in women and patients, but should not be eaten more. It is more appropriate to eat 1 ~ 2 eggs a day.
Step 3 pray for blessings
In Wujin District, Changzhou, beginning of autumn will hold an autumn meeting to commemorate this brave bodhisattva and pray for good weather, peace and prosperity. In addition, locust plagues often occurred in Changzhou in ancient times. In early autumn, farmers planted banners in rice fields to drive away locusts. There is also a folk saying in Yancheng called "Autumn Contests for Happiness", which has a history of at least two or three thousand years.
4. Autumn House
Autumn society was originally a day to worship the land god in autumn, which began in Han Dynasty. Later generations set the Autumn Festival on the fifth day after beginning of autumn. At this time, the harvest has been completed, and the government and people have sacrificed to God to show their gratitude. In Song Shiqiu society, there were customs of eating cakes, drinking wine and women visiting their mothers. Tang Han Wo's poem "No See": "I am willing to be a royal swallow, and the autumn society will not return." In some places, there are still sayings of "running a cooperative", "respecting the god of the cooperative" and "cooking porridge for the cooperative".
5, eat "slag"
Beginning of autumn is popular in Laixi, Shandong Province to eat "dregs", a kind of small tofu made of chopped beans and vegetables. There is a saying that "adults and children eat beginning of autumn dregs without spitting or pulling". Autumn is the high incidence period of gastrointestinal diseases, and folk customs in many areas have the meaning of treating diseases and praying for blessings for one year. Sichuan and Shandong are typical representatives of this folk custom.
6, hanging scales according to people
In Jiaxing in Qing dynasty, it was popular to weigh children by hanging scales on this day, and then compare them with the weight in long summer to measure their fatness. Losing weight is called "bitter summer". At that time, people thought that since they had lost weight, they needed to "make up for it", which is what beginning of autumn commonly called "putting on autumn weight".
7. Paste autumn fertilizer
In early autumn, people are popular to weigh themselves with hanging scales and compare them with those in long summer. Because people have no appetite in summer, and the food is light and simple. After two or three months, they will be thinner. With the autumn wind, my appetite is wide open. I want to eat something good, supplement some nutrition and make up for the loss in summer. The remedy is to "paste autumn fat": on this day in beginning of autumn, all kinds of meats, stews, barbecued braised pork, etc., "paste fat with meat".
8. Eat watermelon
Every place in beginning of autumn and Jiangsu has the custom of eating watermelon every day, which is called eating autumn. This day in beginning of autumn is often the last time to eat watermelon this year-people think that after beginning of autumn, the weather will get cold in the morning and evening, and eating cold food will have an impact on the stomach, so they stopped eating watermelon after beginning of autumn.
9. Eat autumn peaches
In beginning of autumn, adults and children should eat autumn peaches, one for each person, and keep the stone after eating. On New Year's Eve, the peach pit was thrown into the stove and burned to ashes. It is thought that this will save the plague for a year.
Beginning of autumn's traditional food must be eaten in solar terms.
1, eat eggplant
The custom of eating eggplant in beginning of autumn comes from a legend in Ming Dynasty. It is said that one of the soldiers under General Chang Yuchun stole a cantaloupe from a farmer after Xu Da, the general of Ming Dynasty, laid down Beiping House, the capital of Yuan Dynasty. Chang Yuchun is very strict with soldiers, and soldiers who steal melons should be put to death. At this time, the peasants came out and said that there was a custom in the Yuan Dynasty, and it was not stealing for beginning of autumn to pick melons. Chang Yuchun pardoned the soldiers. Unexpectedly, as soon as the melon pickers in beginning of autumn were innocent, other soldiers began to snatch melons. In order to reward soldiers, Chang Yuchun found a substitute for autumn fertilizer-the only eggplant with meat and meat flavor among vegetables. Therefore, the custom of eating eggplant in beginning of autumn has been passed down.
2. Eat watermelon in Hangzhou
In early autumn, there is also the custom of eating watermelon every day. Autumn peaches used to be very popular in Hangzhou. In beginning of autumn, adults and children should eat autumn peaches, one for each person, and keep the stone after eating. On New Year's Eve, the peach pit was thrown into the stove and burned to ashes. It is thought that this will save the plague for a year.
3, Beijing "paste autumn fat" to eat meat
Every year in beginning of autumn, according to the custom of old Beijing, we eat meat, which means "pasting autumn fat". In front of some time-honored meat counters in Beijing, customers who buy meat products will queue up. Once in beginning of autumn, although the weather is still very hot, people's bodies are no longer wet. After all, cool autumn is coming. So I began to sprout the idea of making something delicious to make up for the deficit since summer. What should I eat? The most satisfying thing is stew! Eating stew to make up for the fat lost in summer is called "sticking autumn fertilizer"
4. Shandong eats "slag"
In Laixi, Shandong Province, beginning of autumn is popular to eat "dregs", which is a kind of small tofu made of tofu and vegetables. There is a saying that "adults and children don't spit or pull after eating beginning of autumn dregs". So many dietary customs are mostly aimed at preventing dysentery, which shows that workers in China are aware of autumn diarrhea.
5. Autumn biting is popular in Tianjin.
In addition to beginning of autumn's "sticking autumn fertilizer", Tianjin and other places are also popular with "biting autumn". People believe that eating melons in early autumn can avoid diarrhea in winter and the next spring. There is such a record in Zhang Dao's "Customs of Tianjin Miscellaneous Notes at the Age of Years" in the Qing Dynasty: "beginning of autumn can avoid diarrhea by eating melons and biting autumn." In the Qing Dynasty, people put melons, steamed eggplants and fragrant soup in the yard the day before in beginning of autumn, and ate them in beginning of autumn to remove the heat in summer and avoid dysentery.
6. Sichuan drinks "autumn water"
It is also popular to drink "autumn water" in the east and west of Sichuan, that is, at that moment in beginning of autumn, everyone in the whole family will have a drink. It is said that this can eliminate the accumulated summer heat and Qiu Lai will not have a stomachache.
7. Nanjing "gnawing autumn"
Beginning of autumn is the third node after the summer solstice. There is a custom of "gnawing at autumn" in beginning of autumn solar terms in old Nanjing, and there are some very interesting sayings, such as "the last 18 pots in beginning of autumn", which means that there is still a long period of heat after beginning of autumn; In addition, there is a distinction between autumn for men and autumn for women in beginning of autumn, and there is a saying that autumn is cool for men and hot for women.
The origin of solar terms in beginning of autumn
Beginning of autumn starts every year when the sun reaches 135 degrees on August 7th or 8th.
In ancient times, beginning of autumn was divided into three periods: "the cool breeze first arrived". After beginning of autumn, the north wind began to blow in many areas of China, and the south wind gradually weakened. The small north wind brings coolness to people. "The white dew falls at the second hour", because the sun is still strong during the day, and the cool breeze blows at night to form a certain temperature difference between day and night. In the morning, the water vapor in the air condenses into crystal dew and falls on outdoor plants. "Three-time chilling cicada", the cicada at this time, with plenty of food and suitable temperature, sings proudly on the branches blown by the breeze, as if to tell people that the hot summer has passed. After waiting for 5 days, beginning of autumn 15 days, it gradually got cold. Cooling is a climate trend. According to beginning of autumn Sanhou's description, this may happen when the climate is cold.
Beginning of autumn solar terms indicate that hot summer is coming and autumn is coming. When beginning of autumn arrived, many parts of our country were still in hot summer. After beginning of autumn, although the summer heat is hard to disappear for a while, there is still the afterglow of "autumn tiger", but the general trend of the weather is getting colder and colder. The temperature difference between morning and evening is gradually obvious, which is often very hot during the day and relatively cool at night. . Of course, due to the different climates in different parts of the country, the real start time of autumn is also inconsistent.
In the feudal society of China, there was also the custom of welcoming autumn in beginning of autumn. On this day, the feudal emperor personally led the civil and military officials to set up an altar in the suburbs to welcome autumn. At this time, it is also the season when the officers and men began to train and prepare for war. This explains why beginning of autumn is so important.