Traditional custom activities of vernal equinox
Eat spring vegetables
"Spring vegetables", a kind of wild amaranth, are called "Artemisia chun" by villagers, and "rolling soup" made of fish fillets is called "spring soup". "Spring soup is dirty, washing the liver and intestines. The whole family is safe and healthy. "
Send spring cattle
The annual lunar solar terms are printed on red paper or yellow paper, and farmers' ploughing patterns are printed, which is called "Spring Cattle Map".
Vertical egg
Choose a smooth and symmetrical fresh egg that has just been laid for four or five days, gently stand up and put it on the table. Although there are many losers, there are also many winners. The vernal equinox is the best time to play the game of vertical eggs.
Sticking sparrow's mouth
Everyone eats glutinous rice balls and cooks some dumplings that don't wrap their hearts. They put a thin bamboo fork on the ridge of the outdoor field, which is called sticking the bird's mouth to prevent birds from destroying crops.
fly a kite
On the vernal equinox, people will fly kites, such as Wang Zi kites, silver carp kites, moth kites, Leigong kites and moonlight kites. The largest is two meters high and the smallest is two or three feet.
Reward cattle
The vernal equinox is coming, and farm work such as spring ploughing and spring sowing is about to begin. Cattle at home have never been idle since spring ploughing. Therefore, when the vernal equinox season comes, farmers often feed dumplings to their cows as rewards. It also includes the pity of rural people for cattle.
Worship the sun at vernal equinox and the moon at autumnal equinox.
In ancient times, the vernal equinox was also called "Japan-China", "Day and Night Equinox" and "Spring Equinox Moon". It is not a traditional festival, but an important solar term representing agricultural production, which can also be seen from its alias.
At the vernal equinox, the length of day and night is equal, and then the direct sunlight position gradually moves northward, and gradually the days are long and the nights are short. Dong Zhongshu of the Western Han Dynasty mentioned in the Spring and Autumn Stories, Up and Down of Yin and Yang: "The vernal equinox, Yin and Yang are also half-phase, so it is cold and hot."
"Ming Li Yi" said: "The demarcation point is the point where Huangchi meets, and the sun ends here, and the day and night are equally divided. Because it is closely related to farming activities, the people also left a saying that "there is no rain in the vernal equinox" and "it is a good year to have rain in the vernal equinox".
In ancient times, there was quite a grand ceremony to worship the sun at the vernal equinox. The Book of Rites records: "Sacrifice to the altar." According to Kong's annotation, it is called "vernal equinox". This custom has continued for several generations since the Zhou Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, Pan Rongbi's "Ji Sheng at the Age of Emperor Jingdi" also said: "The vernal equinox and autumn are national gifts, and scholars should not sacrifice them at will."
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the altar in Beijing became the place where the emperor offered sacrifices to Daimyojin (the sun) at the vernal equinox. Every year, A, C, E, G, Ren, the emperor personally sacrifices, and officials sacrifice in other years.
Key points of vernal equinox health care
keep early hours
After the vernal equinox, nature is full of vitality and everything is thriving. At this time, people should conform to the bustling scene of nature, go to bed early and get up early, relax and make their emotions grow with the spring, which is also a health care method to adapt to the spring.
Don't cut down on winter clothes too early.
After the vernal equinox, the temperature in some areas has not warmed up, so don't throw away your winter clothes too early. After wearing cotton-padded clothes for several months in winter, the regulation of body heat production and radiation is in a relatively balanced state with the environmental temperature in winter. From winter to early spring, it is warm and cold, and the temperature changes greatly. If you take off your winter clothes too early, it will be difficult to adapt once the temperature drops, which will reduce your body's resistance. Bacteria attack the body, which is easy to cause various respiratory diseases and infectious diseases in winter and spring.
Open more windows and ventilate frequently.
As soon as the weather changed from cold to warm in early spring, all kinds of pathogenic bacteria and viruses grew and multiplied. In order to avoid the occurrence of various diseases in spring, preventive measures are essential. Around 8 am, the temperature is generally low and the air quality is good, which is a good time to open the window for ventilation. In addition, the bedroom should be ventilated at least after a nap and before going to bed at night.
Avoid arrogance and dryness
During the vernal equinox, you should be calm and keep a relaxed, happy and optimistic mood, so as to have a peaceful atmosphere, and avoid exultation and great sorrow, which is not conducive to the release of liver qi and corresponds to the characteristics of "balance of yin and yang" in the vernal equinox.
Stay away from spring sleep
Ensure adequate sleep and regular work and rest; "Spring Sleepiness" can't be solved simply by sleeping more. On the contrary, too much sleep will make the cerebral cortex in a state of inhibition, thus "the more you sleep, the more sleepy you are." We should take an active part in exercise and outdoor activities to promote or improve the blood circulation of the body.
Eat more fruits and vegetables.
The vernal equinox diet pays attention to "regulating its yin and yang, supplementing if it is insufficient, and diarrhea if it is surplus". Eating more fruits and vegetables at this time can supplement the consumption of vitamins and minerals in winter, which is of great benefit to health.
Climatic characteristics of vernal equinox season
A lot of rain
With the arrival of the vernal equinox, the rainfall has obviously increased, and the average surface temperature in China has stabilized at 10 degrees, which is the spring temperature defined by climatology.
Dust and sand
During the spring equinox and solar terms, the East Asian trough is obviously weakened, and the trough ridge activity in the westerly belt is obviously enhanced. From Mongolia to the northeast, there are often low-pressure activities and cyclone development. Low-pressure movement causes cold air to go south, and it is windy and windy in the north.
Abnormal cold weather in early spring
When the long wave trough moves eastward, there will be continuous rainy and cold weather due to the intersection of cold and warm air masses.
spring drought
According to the climate law, the precipitation in Jiangnan increased rapidly at this time, and it entered the period of "peach blossom flooding" in spring; In the northeast, north and northwest regions where "spring rain is as expensive as oil", precipitation is still very little, so resisting the threat of spring drought is the main problem of agricultural production.