Autumn is a transitional season from summer to winter. The lunar calendar is from beginning of autumn to beginning of winter from July to September, the solar calendar is from 9: 00 to165438+1October, and the astronomical cycle is from the autumnal equinox to the winter solstice.
Beginning of autumn: August 8th.
Summer: August 24th.
Millennium: ninth, eighth.
Autumnal Equinox: September 24th
Cold dew: 65438+1October 9.
First frost: 65438+1October 24th.
Beginning of autumn custom: Many places have the custom of "pasting autumn fat" when beginning of autumn arrives. What is "autumn fertilizer"? In summer, people can't eat and feel anorexia. Once in early autumn, although the weather is still very hot and people no longer feel wet and sticky, the idea of making some delicious things begins to sprout to make up for the deficit since summer. What should we eat? The most satisfying thing is stew! Eating stew to make up for the fat lost in summer is called "sticking autumn fertilizer"
Summer:
Travel to welcome autumn.
Sacrificing ancestors to welcome autumn in summer is mostly related to the folk customs before and after the solar terms. Around the summer vacation, there will be folk activities to celebrate the Central Plains, commonly known as "July 30" or "Central Plains Festival". In the old days, there was a ceremony to open the gate of hell from the beginning of July until the gate of hell closed at the end of the month, and Purdue giving activities were held. It is said that Purdue activities started with the opening of the gate of hell, and then lanterns were erected and river lanterns were set off, causing lonely souls and wild ghosts; The main body is to build Pudu altar, build solitary shed, and intervene in robbing orphans. Finally, it ends with closing the gate of hell. Today, it has become the main activity time for ancestor worship. In addition, after summer, autumn is getting stronger, which is a good time for people to go swimming in the suburbs to meet autumn scenery. After the heat, even the clouds in the sky seem to be evacuated and free, unlike the thick clouds in the heat. There has always been a saying among the people that "seeing a clever cloud in July and August" means "going out to welcome autumn". [5]
Put on a river lantern.
River lanterns, also known as "lotus lanterns", usually put lights or candles on the base, and put them into rivers, lakes and seas during the Mid-Autumn Festival to let them float. River lanterns are for ghosts such as drowning in Purdue water. A passage in Hong Xiao's Biography of Hulan River is the best footnote of this custom: "July 15th is Ghost Festival; You damn fool can't keep alive, and it's hard to wander in hell. They want to support themselves, but they can't find the direction. On this day, the dead fool holds the river lantern and has to support it for a lifetime. " [5]
Fishing festival
For coastal fishermen, every year during the hot summer, it is the harvest season after the hot summer; The annual grand fishing festival will be held in the coastal areas of Zhejiang Province, and it is decided to hold a grand fishing ceremony on the day when fishing is closed in the East China Sea to see the fishermen off to sea. The 9th China Fishing Festival was held in Xiangshan County, Zhejiang Province on September 6th, 2006. Because; At this time, the water temperature in the sea area is still high, and the fish will still stay around the sea area, and the fish, shrimp and shellfish are mature. Therefore, from this time on, people can often enjoy all kinds of seafood. [5]
Water splashing custom
In Japan, the custom of splashing water to cool down was organized all over Japan during the month from the great summer heat to the hot summer heat.
Millennium:
Speaking of the Millennium solar terms, autumn is getting stronger. Old Nanjing people
Bailucha
Attach great importance to the "coming" and "going" of solar terms, and gradually form the solar terms custom with local characteristics in Nanjing.
Speaking of Bailuyuan, the old Nanjing who loves tea has a special liking for "Bailuyuan Tea". At this time, the tea tree is in the excellent growth period after the summer heat. Bailu tea is neither as fresh and tender as spring tea, nor as dry and bitter as summer tea, but it has a unique sweet and mellow taste, which is especially loved by old tea customers. Moreover, the spring tea stored at home has basically been "consumed", and at this time, Bailu tea is being picked up, so before and after Bailu, a tea customer asked someone to buy some Bailu tea.
rice wine
Bailu rice wine
Ning, Sandu and Liaojiang have always had the custom of making wine. Every year on the Millennium Festival, every family will make wine and drink "local wine" when receiving guests. Its wine temperature is spicy and slightly sweet, so it is called "Bailu rice wine". The best of Bailu rice wine is "Chengjiu", which is named after being brewed with Chengjiang water. Cheng wine, an ancient tribute wine, enjoys a high reputation. "Notes on Water Classics" records: "There is a backwater in Chen County, which flows to the northwest of Dongshan in the county, flows to Lei, and turns south. There is a pub in the county brewing at the foot of the mountain, which is called' Chengjiu' and Fengtong." Lu wine is passed down from generation to generation. Jin Shu's Wudi Collection: "Commend and praise in the ancestral temple", which shows that it has been as long as Lu. "Nine Domains" also said: "Chengshui is in Xingning County, Chenzhou today, which originated from Cheng Xianglai. This water is used to make wine, hence the name' into wine', which is different from wine. " Cheng Xiang is the area around Sandu and Liaohe today. From the Southern Song Dynasty to the early Republic of China, Zixing was called Xingning, so it was called Xingning County in Chenzhou. Besides taking water and choosing solar terms, the brewing method of Bailu rice wine is quite unique. First, white wine (commonly known as "earth-burned") and glutinous rice distiller's grains are brewed, and then the white wine is poured into the distiller's grains according to the ratio of 1:3, and it is put in jars for drinking. For example, craft wine must be mixed with a proper amount of water (boiled), then sealed in a jar, buried underground or in a cellar, or buried in fresh cowshed sludge, and it will take years or even decades to take it out. The wine that has been buried for decades is brownish red in color, easy to drink, fragrant and strong in stamina. In the Annals of Xingning County compiled in the first year of Guangxu reign (1875), it is said that "the color is green and mellow, and the longer it lasts, the better it will be", and "it can be brewed for a thousand days, and you will be drunk when you go home". The Notes on Water Classics also records that a writer of the Southern Liang Dynasty chatted with his friend and said, "Let's say,' Wine travels a thousand miles, what is empty talk?' He said,' Cheng Xiang in Guiyang has a thousand miles of wine, and waking up at home is also an example.' In Nanliang, Xingning belonged to Guiyang County. There is also the custom of brewing Bailu rice wine in old Nanjing, which comes from southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In the old society, Bailu went to Jiangsu and Zhejiang rural areas every year, and every family made wine to entertain guests. People often brought Bailu rice wine into the city. Bailu wine is made from glutinous rice, sorghum and other grains, which is slightly sweet, so it is called "Bailu rice wine". Until the 1930s and 1940s, there were still zero copies of Bailu rice wine in hotels in Nanjing, and then it gradually disappeared.
Autumnal equinox:
The rapid cooling in autumn makes the autumn harvest, autumn ploughing and autumn planting "Sanqiu" particularly nervous. The autumnal equinox is a good time to harvest cotton and tobacco leaves from green to yellow. Winter wheat has been planted in North China, and the Yangtze River basin and vast areas in the south are busy harvesting late rice and ploughing the land to prepare for rape sowing. Drought and lack of rainfall or continuous rainfall in autumn equinox are the main unfavorable factors affecting the normal operation of Sanqiu, especially the continuous rainfall will make the upcoming crops lodging, mildewing or sprouting, resulting in serious losses. "Sanqiu" is a great help, and the word "early" is the key. Timely harvest of crops in autumn can avoid the harm of first frost and continuous rain, and timely sowing of crops in winter can make full use of heat resources before winter, cultivate strong seedlings to survive the winter safely, and lay the foundation for high yield in the coming year. The autumnal equinox doesn't appear, so cut it and feed it to the old cow. Heading and flowering of double-cropping late rice in South China is the key period for yield formation. The "autumnal equinox" weather formed in advance in low temperature and rainy weather is the main threat to the flowering and fruiting of double-cropping late rice, so we must do a good job in forecasting and defense.
Cold dew:
After the white dew, the weather turned cold and dew began to appear. When it comes to cold dew, there is more dew, and the temperature is lower. At this time, frost will appear in some parts of China. In the north, it is already a scene of late autumn, with white clouds and red leaves and occasional early frost. In the south, autumn is getting stronger and cicadas are dying. The custom of climbing mountains in Beijing is more prosperous. Jingshan Park, Badachu and Xiangshan are all good places to climb mountains. The Double Ninth Festival will attract many tourists.
In ancient times, dew was considered as a sign that the weather turned cold. The solar term of the Mid-Autumn White Dew is "dew condenses white", and it is already "dew cold, it will condense into frost" when it is cold in season and autumn.
At this time, the temperature in most parts of South China continued to drop. The average daily temperature in South China is less than 20℃. Even in the areas along the Yangtze River, it is difficult for the mercury column to rise above 30℃, while the minimum temperature can be reduced to below 10℃. Except for a few valley lowlands, the five-day average temperature in the northwest plateau is generally lower than 10℃, which is already winter according to the standard of four seasons climate division. Thousands of miles away, first frost and Wan Li are snowing, which is very different from autumn in South China.
First frost: In some places in China, red persimmons should be eaten in the first frost season. In the eyes of local people, it can not only keep out the cold and keep warm, but also nourish the bones and muscles. This is a good first frost food. The old man in Quanzhou said that the first frost eats persimmons: the first frost eats persimmons, and the nose will not flow. In some places, the explanation of this custom is that the first frost will eat shuttlecock on this day, otherwise his lips will crack all winter. At this time, people living in rural areas will climb tall persimmon trees and pick some bright and sweet persimmons to eat.