A brief introduction to the origin and customs of summer solstice

Solstice is the earliest of the 24 solar terms. But do you know its origin? The following is a brief introduction about the origin and customs of the summer solstice that I have compiled for you. For reference only, welcome to read.

The origin of the solar term from summer to solar day is the earliest of the 24 solar terms. In the 7th century BC, the shadow of the sun was measured by civil soil gauge, thus the summer solstice was determined. The annual summer solstice begins on June 2nd1day (or 22nd) and ends on July 7th (or 8th). According to "Zunxian Manuscript", "The sun arrives in the north, the days are long and the shadows are short, so it is called the summer solstice. At best, it is excellent. " On the day of summer solstice, the sun directly reaches the northernmost part of the year, almost directly to the Tropic of Cancer (23 26' north latitude), and the daytime in the northern hemisphere reaches the longest, and the farther north it is, the longer it is. For example, the daily length of Haikou in Hainan is a little more than 13 hours, Hangzhou is 14 hours, Beijing is about 15 hours, and Mohe in Heilongjiang can reach 17 hours. At the same time, for the Tropic of Cancer and its north, the summer solstice is also the day with the highest sun height at noon in a year. In Beijing, the height of the sun is as high as 73 32' at noon from summer to Sunday. After the summer solstice, the position of the direct sunlight on the ground gradually moved southward, and the days in the northern hemisphere began to shorten day by day. For the Tropic of Cancer and its northern area, after the summer solstice, the height of the noon sun will also decrease day by day. There is a folk proverb that "eating noodles on the solstice in summer will shorten the day". At this time, the southern hemisphere is in the middle of winter.

In ancient China, the summer solstice was divided into three phases: "The first phase of staghorn dissolution; Second, wait for cicadas to start singing; Third-class Pinellia ternata. " Although elk and deer belong to the same family, the ancients thought they belonged to yin and yang. The deer's horn faces forward, so it belongs to Yang. On the solstice of summer, Yin Qi was born, and Yang Qi began to decline, so the front antlers began to fall off. However, the elk is cloudy, so it falls off at the corner from winter to Sunday; After the solstice of summer, the male cicada fluttered and sang because of Yin Qi's feeling; Pinellia ternata is a shade-loving herb, named after it was born in swamps or paddy fields in midsummer. It can be seen that in the hot summer, some yin-loving creatures began to appear, while positive creatures began to decline.

China folks divide 15 days from summer to the future into three "hours", usually the first three days, the middle five days and the last seven days. During this period, the temperature in most parts of China was high, the sunshine was sufficient, the crops grew rapidly, and the physiological and ecological water demand was high. At this time, the precipitation has a great influence on agricultural output, and there is a saying that "raindrops are worth tens of millions in summer solstice". In general, the precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Huanghuai area can generally meet the requirements of crop growth. The Chronicle of Jingchu's Age says: "It rained on June 3rd, and the Tian family thought it was sweet, and the whole city congratulated each other." It can be seen that as early as 1000 years ago, people had a clear understanding of the characteristics of this rainfall.

Summer solstice folk custom 1: eat noodles

The summer solstice in May of the lunar calendar (June 22nd in the solar calendar) is the longest day in a year. Sacrificial ceremonies were held in the Zhou Dynasty, believing that plagues, famine years and people's hunger in the country could be eliminated. The customs of the Han nationality are very popular in most parts of the country. Refers to the custom of eating cold noodles (strips) from summer solstice (one of the 24 solar terms). Pan Qingrong's "The Year of the Emperor": "It's the day when furniture eats cold noodles, that is, the water surface as the saying goes ... As the saying goes,' winter solstice wonton, summer solstice noodles'"

June 2 1 day is the summer solstice in the 24 solar terms, and it is called "jiaozi Summer Solstice Day". Delicious Beijingers pay attention to eating noodles on this day. With the return of folk customs, all foods related to the summer solstice are selling well. According to the customs of old Beijing, lettuce and cold noodles can be eaten on the first day of the summer solstice every year, because the climate is hot at this time, eating something cold can reduce the fire and stimulate the appetite, and it will not damage the health because of the cold.

In the summer of solstice, old Beijing likes Zhajiang Noodles best.

June 2 1 day is the summer solstice in the 24 solar terms, and it is called "jiaozi Summer Solstice Day". Delicious Beijingers pay attention to eating noodles on this day. With the return of folk customs, all foods related to the summer solstice are selling well. According to the customs of old Beijing, lettuce and cold noodles can be eaten on the first day of the summer solstice every year, because the climate is hot at this time, eating something cold can reduce the fire and stimulate the appetite, and it will not damage the health because of the cold.

In summer solstice, noodle restaurants in Beijing are very popular. No matter Sichuan cold noodles, Dandan Noodles, braised pork noodles or zhajiang noodles, all kinds of noodles are very popular.

In some areas of northwest China, people eat zongzi on the solstice in summer. Northwest China, such as Shaanxi, eats zongzi and chrysanthemums as ashes in this solar eclipse to prevent wheat from being damaged by pests.

In the south, people weigh themselves to see if they are fat or thin. Farmers roll pancakes with vegetables, pods, tofu and bacon, bake them, eat them after ancestor worship or give them to relatives and friends.

In some areas, on this day, many adult nephews and nieces go to my uncle's house for dinner. My uncle's house must have amaranth and gourd to cook. It is said that eating amaranth will not cause hair loss, but eating gourd will make my legs strong. Some people go to grandma's house to eat bacon, saying that it will not be summer after eating it.

Summer solstice custom 2: eat dog meat

In some places, the habit of eating dog meat from summer solstice is still circulating. Eating dog meat can strengthen the body. According to historical records, "Qin people used dogs to fight evil, and it is said that dog meat is suitable for summer solstice." It shows that there are many epidemic diseases in summer, so it is suitable to eat dog meat in summer to strengthen resistance. Therefore, the custom of eating dog meat in summer has been passed down to this day.

"Summer solstice dogs have nowhere to hide." During the summer solstice of the lunar calendar, Yangjiang, Guangdong Province has a folk custom of eating dogs during the summer solstice for hundreds of years to ward off evil spirits and strengthen the body.

On the day of summer solstice, in some farmers' markets in Yangjiang, most of the previous pork stalls hung dog meat, and only a few stalls sold pork and dog meat together. The local market manager said that this farmer's market can sell more than 40 pigs on weekdays, but today is the summer solstice, and the pork as the main meat is only more than 10. In the morning, the beef stalls can no longer be seen, because the locals are used to eating dog meat every summer. "Hanging pig's head and selling dog meat" has become a unique scenery of Yangjiang meat market in Guangdong during the summer to Japan.

Why are Yangjiang people so keen on eating dog meat in summer solstice? There is a local saying that eating dog meat on the summer solstice can ward off evil spirits, strengthen the body and resist the plague. "Eating dog meat on the summer solstice means that people can resist the attack of westerly rain, catch fewer colds and be healthy as long as they eat dog meat on the summer solstice. It is based on this beautiful wish that the unique folk food culture of "dog meat on the summer solstice" has been achieved.

The only difference from the folk tradition is that with the continuous improvement of people's living standards, the scene of killing dogs in every household from summer to morning no longer exists. However, the habit of eating dog meat remains the same in every household. The only difference is that more people buy it than kill it. Locals say that dog meat shops with poor business on weekdays can also make a lot of money in the summer solstice, and the price of dog meat has also risen sharply.

Summer Solstice Custom 3: Sacrificing to God and Heaven

In ancient times, the summer solstice festival was as grand as the Dragon Boat Festival. From the Zhou Dynasty, every summer to Sunday, the imperial court held a grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to the gods to pray for disaster relief and prosperity. Besides offering sacrifices, the imperial court also prayed for peace of the country and people with songs and dances, ceremonies and music. In the Song Dynasty, North Korean officials had a three-day holiday from the day of the summer solstice. Women in Liao Dynasty gave each other powdered fat capsules to get rid of sweat.

The imperial court attached great importance to the summer solstice, and the people were no exception. Every summer solstice, farmers everywhere are busy offering sacrifices to the gods, which is called "offering sacrifices to heaven" to pray for good weather. This kind of worship to heaven is also different between the north and the south. Northerners pray for rain and drought. Southerners seek more sunshine to prevent floods. Today, many areas still retain the custom of offering sacrifices to the sky from the summer solstice.

Summer solstice custom 4: no shaving and haircut

This is a custom taboo in the Qing Dynasty. According to Ting Anne Lu, "Summer is the turning point, and the sun, the second hour and the last hour are called' three o'clock', so people should live carefully, and it is forbidden to curse and shave their heads ..." That is to say, on this special day from summer to Sunday, they should live on time, and they are not allowed to swear, and of course, they should not shave. It is said that getting a haircut during the summer solstice will bring bad luck.

Summer solstice custom five: avoid thunderstorms

People, especially farmers, are most afraid of thunderstorms from summer solstice. A folk proverb says, "It thunders from the solstice in summer and dries in June; The solstice in summer is rainy and hot. " For farmers who depend on the weather, whether it is drought or hot weather, it will affect the harvest of crops. Therefore, in the past, people hoped that there would be no thunder or rain during the summer solstice.