What are the customs of Guyu solar term?

Grain Rain, as the last solar term in spring, means that the cold wave weather has basically ended, the temperature has accelerated, and precipitation has increased significantly, which is conducive to the growth of cereal crops. It is the best time to sow and transplant seedlings, and grow melons and beans. This time, the editor has compiled the customs of the Grain Rain solar term for your reading and reference.

Table of Contents

Customs of Grain Rain Season

Three Elements of Health Preservation in Grain Rain Season

Is it summer after Grain Rain

Customs of the Grain Rain solar term

1. Walking in the Grain Rain

In ancient times, there was a custom of "Walking in the Grain Rain". On the day of Guyu, young women went to villages to visit relatives, and some went to the wild for a walk. return. It means integrating with nature and strengthening the body.

2. Drinking Guyu tea

It is the custom of picking tea during Guyu in the south. It is said that drinking the tea on Guyu day will clear fire, ward off evil spirits, and improve eyesight. So no matter what the weather is like on Guyu day, people will go to the tea mountains to pick some new tea and come back to drink it.

3. Eating toon during Guyu

It is the custom of eating toon during Guyu in the north. Before and after Guyu, it is the season when toon is on the market. At this time, the toon is mellow and refreshing, and has high nutritional value. There is a saying: "Toon is as tender as before the rain." "Silk" theory. Toon has the effects of improving the body's immunity, strengthening the stomach, regulating qi, stopping diarrhea, moisturizing, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and killing insects.

4. Sacrifice to Wenzu Cangjie

The custom of worshiping Wenzu Cangjie in Guyu, Baishui County, Shaanxi Province, "Gu Yu Sacrifice to Cangjie" is a folk tradition that has been passed down for thousands of years since the Han Dynasty. The Yellow Emperor is worshiped during the Qingming Festival, and Cangjie is worshiped during the Grain Rain Festival. The Cangjie Temple Fair is held on Guyu Festival. According to legend, Cangjie created characters, which was so great that the Yellow Emperor was so moved that he rewarded him with "grain rain from the sky" for his creation of characters. From then on, the "Grain Rain" Festival began. Since then, every year during Guyu Festival, nearby villagers have organized temple fairs to commemorate Cangjie.

5. Take a bath to ward off disasters

The river water in Guyu is also very precious. In the northwest region, in the old days, people called the river water in Guyu "peach blossom water". It is said that bathing in it can ward off disasters. During Guyu Festival, people bathe in "peach blossom water" and hold hunting, dancing and other activities to celebrate.

6. Ban on killing five poisons

After the Grain Rain, the temperature rises, and pests and diseases enter a period of high reproduction. In order to reduce the damage caused by pests and diseases to crops and people, farmers enter the fields to eliminate pests while Post Grain Rain stickers and pray to ward off evil spirits and Naji. This custom is very popular in Shandong, Shanxi and Shaanxi.

Grain Rain stickers are a type of New Year pictures. They are engraved with images of a divine chicken catching a scorpion, a heavenly master removing five poisons, or Taoist talismans. Some of them are also accompanied by words such as "Tai Shang Laojun is like a law, Guyu." Text descriptions such as "In the middle of March, snakes and scorpions will never grow", "In the middle of March during Grain Rain, Laojun descends from the sky, holding a seven-star sword, and single-handedly kills scorpions", etc., which express people's mentality of killing pests and hoping for a good harvest and peace.

7. Grain Rain Festival to the Sea

The Grain Rain season is when the spring sea is warm, and hundreds of fish move to the shallow sea, which is a good day for fishing in the sea. As the saying goes, "riding Guyu to the Internet." In order to be able to go to sea safely and return with a full load, fishermen hold sea festivals on Guyu day to pray for the blessing of the sea god.

Therefore, the Guyu Festival is also called the "Zhuangxing Festival" when fishermen go out to sea to fish. This custom is still popular in Rongcheng, Jiaodong today. In the past, fishermen were under unified management by fisheries companies, and sea festivals were generally organized by fisheries companies. The sacrifice is a fat pig with its hair removed and its skin branded, which is rubbed red with blood, and ten large white flour pastries. In addition, firecrackers, incense paper, etc. are also prepared. If there is no whole pig in the sea festival organized by the fishermen's cooperative, pig head or steamed pig-shaped pastry will be used instead.

In the old days, every village had a Tanah Lot Temple or a Niang Niang Temple. When the time came for sacrifices, fishermen would carry their offerings to the Tanah Lot Temple or Niang Niang Temple to offer sacrifices. Some would carry the offerings to the seaside. The gongs and drums were beaten, firecrackers were set off, and sacrifices were made facing the sea. The scene was very grand.

8. Appreciating Peonies

Before and after Grain Rain is also an important period for peonies to bloom. Therefore, peonies are also called Grain Rain flowers and wealth flowers. "Looking at peonies during the three dynasties of Grain Rain", peonies have been enjoyed during the rainy season for thousands of years. Wherever there are flowers, there are ladies and gentlemen visiting them. There are also people who hang curtains and lanterns at night, feast and enjoy the flowers, which is called "Flower Party". "Qing Jia Lu" written by Gulu of the Qing Dynasty said: "For merchants who built temple annexes, they saw the flower arrangement in Guyu. If you don't believe that there is no national beauty when you meet, the brocade shed only protects the spring of the jade building." So far, there are many buildings in Heze, Shandong, Luoyang, Henan, and Pengzhou, Sichuan. During the Grain Rain season, a peony party is held for people to have fun and gather.

9. Miao Climbing Festival

The Miao people in Kaili area of ??southeastern Guizhou also hold a "Hill Climbing Festival" during Guyu period. The Hill Climb Festival, called "Ji Bo" in Miao language, is a unique annual gathering of mate selection and love that young men and women of the Miao ethnic group eagerly await. Whenever the climbing season comes, young men and women take the opportunity to meet at the market, either at the request of the man or invited by the woman, and decide to hold a hill climb at a certain place in the woman's village on a certain day. On the day of the Hill Climbing Festival, thousands of people gathered on the hillside. In circles on the slope, there were clusters of young men and women wandering around singing, playing the sheng, and playing the drums. They used this as a medium to find friends and companions, and they were full of enthusiasm. Holiday cheer atmosphere.

The host girls prepared sumptuous fish and glutinous rice and took them up the mountain to entertain the young people while singing to each other. In this process, young men and women are looking for each other's partners, forming couples and forming happy families. Some older mothers also come forward to help their daughters find a partner.

When the sun sets, the girls invite the younger generation to the village to continue their romance and host another banquet. If they like each other, they exchange tokens and get engaged.

At the end of the night, those who have relatives and friends in the girl's village will go to their homes to stay overnight. Those who do not have relatives and friends will be invited by the girls' mothers to stay at home for the night. At dawn, the young men got up and returned. The girls gave glutinous rice to their loved ones and accompanied them halfway, and then said goodbye. This unique hill-climbing festival recreates the ancient matriarchal society lifestyle.

Because it was women, not men, who took the initiative in concluding marriages at that time. This custom is a residual trace of the conclusion of marriages in matrilineal clan society. Now, the Miao Mountain Climbing Festival has added many entertainment and sports activities, such as bullfighting, bird fighting, antiphonal singing, basketball, racing, etc.

10. Forbidden Scorpion Talisman

In the old days, in the Linfen area of ??Shanxi Province, Zhang Tianshi's talisman of Guyu day painting was posted on the door, which was called "Forbidden Scorpion". The scorpion-forbidden charms in Fengxiang, Shaanxi, are printed with woodcuts, which shows that the demand is very high. Printed on it is: "In the middle of the third month of Grain Rain, scorpions show off their majesty. When the sacred chicken takes a bite, poisonous insects turn into water?" In the center of the picture, a rooster holds an insect, and there is a big scorpion under its claws. There are spells printed on the painting.

The saying that roosters can cure scorpions has been circulating among the people for a long time. In the fifty-fifth chapter of the novel "Journey to the West" about gods and demons, Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie are no match for the Scorpion Spirit, and Guanyin also knows that he cannot get close to him. I had no choice but to ask Sun Wukong to ask the Pleiades star official, and he succeeded immediately. The Pleiades star official was originally a big rooster with two crests. The book describes that the Pleiades star official showed his true form - a big rooster. The big rooster screamed at the scorpion spirit, and the scorpion spirit immediately showed its original shape, which was a scorpion the size of a lute. The big cock crows again, and the scorpion spirit becomes limp and dies on the hillside.

Shandong folk custom also prohibits scorpions. The "Xiajin County Chronicle" written in the sixth year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty records: "In the Grain Rain, cinnabar inscriptions ban scorpions." The folk custom of "forbidden scorpions" reflects people's desire to drive away pests and long for a safe harvest.

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Three elements of health maintenance during the Grain Rain season

1. Reasonably increase or decrease clothing

Although the temperature is getting warmer, It is still cooler in the morning and evening. Those who go out early and return late should pay attention to adding or removing clothes to avoid catching cold.

2. People with allergies should have less contact with allergens

People with allergies should prevent hay fever, allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, etc. this season. Pay special attention to avoid contact with allergens and reduce outdoor activities. Reduce the intake of high-protein and high-calorie foods in your diet. If you have allergic reactions, go to the hospital promptly.

3. Dehumidification and health care

The humidity in the air gradually increases after Grain Rain, which will cause discomfort to the human body from the inside out. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine health care, in such a humid environment, dampness can easily invade the human body and cause problems such as poor appetite, heavy body, heavy head, sore joints and muscles, etc. If you already suffer from various joint diseases , such as rheumatoid arthritis, are also easily induced during this solar term.

So when practicing Grain Rain health preservation, you should pay attention to removing dampness and coordinate it with your diet. Foods with good dehumidification effects include: white lentils, red beans, coix, yam, lotus leaves, gorgon fruit, winter melon, tangerine peel, white radish, lotus root, kelp, bamboo shoots, crucian carp, bean sprouts, etc.

Special reminder: After Grain Rain, it means that spring is almost over. According to the traditional Chinese medicine view of "nourishing the liver in spring", we must seize the opportunity to regulate liver blood. The main points of dietary therapy at this time are to nourish the liver, clear it, nourish and improve eyesight. Among the many vegetables, spinach is the most suitable for nourishing the liver. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that spinach is sweet and cool in nature and enters the intestines and stomach meridians. It has the effects of nourishing blood and stopping bleeding, benefiting the five internal organs, unblocking blood vessels, quenching thirst and moisturizing the intestines, nourishing yin and calming the liver, aiding digestion, and clearing gastrointestinal heat and toxins. It is often effective in the auxiliary treatment of liver-qi disorders complicated by gastric diseases. It has a good therapeutic effect on high blood pressure, headache, dizziness and anemia caused by insufficient liver yin in spring.

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Is it summer after Guyu? Yes

In terms of solar terms, the next solar term after Guyu is Beginning of Summer. It is generally believed that the arrival of the Beginning of Summer means summer has arrived, and the Beginning of Summer is the first solar term in summer, indicating the official start of the midsummer season. At this time, the temperature rises significantly, the heat is approaching, and thunderstorms increase. However, in some areas of the Northeast and Northwest, at this time Spring has just entered, and the average temperature in most parts of the country is around 18-20°C. If we want to have a real summer, the daily average temperature in most parts of the country needs to rise steadily above 22°C.

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