Long summer custom Zhoushan

May 5th is the seventh of the 24 solar terms created by the working people in China according to the ground climate change-Long Summer. In the long summer, everything is thriving. The book "Eight Chapters of Lotus Life" written by the Ming Dynasty said: "On the day of summer dream, heaven and earth began to merge and everything was beautiful." At this time, the summer harvest crops entered the late growth stage, the winter wheat blossomed and filled, the rape was close to maturity, and the summer harvest crops were basically a foregone conclusion that year. Therefore, there is a saying in agricultural proverbs that "see summer in the long summer". Rice planting and management of other spring-sown crops have also entered a busy season. Therefore, China has always attached great importance to the long summer solar terms. Long summer is not only a solar term, but also a traditional folk festival. Since long summer, the weather has been sunny and warm, and the summer heat is coming. When people eat less, it is easy to lose weight, especially children are prone to fatigue, anorexia and emaciation, which is called "summer". Therefore, Zhoushan's long summer custom is mostly related to strengthening physical fitness and physical and mental health.

The long summer I remember is very interesting. Grandma or grandma will prepare a bag made of silk thread or wool for children to hold eggs. Every family will steam or boil a pot of eggs. Duck eggs and goose eggs are mostly rare. Every child usually brings four or five eggs to school. When he gets to school, he will start fighting for eggs. Whoever breaks the eggshell first loses, and it is natural that victory is in sight. The loser will eat the eggs beautifully, because when he was a child, we believed what the old man said. "

On that day, I had to weigh myself, and it was with a big scale. The child grabbed the scale hook and the rope passed through a bamboo. When two adults mentioned it, the weight came out. It's more fun to swing around with a fish scale hook. There is a poem that says, "When there are anecdotes in the long summer, the giant scales hang bamboo baskets high, and all ages get on the scales, and the new ropes are broken." Chang Xia said that the purpose of weighing is to pray for physical and mental health, not to be fat or thin, to prevent "summer" and to spend the hot summer smoothly. It's too convenient to weigh now. I don't think anyone will use this method again.

At noon, Chang Xia offered sacrifices with fashionable dishes, and the whole family got together to eat Chang Xia Tang rice. Lunch is usually glutinous rice mixed with cowpeas. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, glutinous rice is also a blind Chinese medicine, which has the effects of warming the stomach, tonifying the middle warmer, benefiting qi and stopping diarrhea. There must be tea eggs, bamboo shoots, peas with shells, royal meals and other special dishes on the dining table. Why does Chang Xia eat tea eggs? According to legend, there is a folk saying: "Eating an egg in the long summer is 10,000 strong; Long summer doesn't eat eggs, but it goes up and down. " Because the egg is shaped like a heart, people think that eating an egg in the long summer can keep his mind from losing money. In fact, from a modern point of view, this custom is undoubtedly beneficial to health. Eggs or duck eggs are rich in protein. Besides, tea eggs are cooked with eggs or duck eggs and tea, which has higher nutritional value. According to medical experts, among all drinks, tea is the first to fight cancer and protect teeth. So it is of positive scientific significance to eat tea eggs in long summer. Foot-bone bamboo shoots (shaped like human leg bones) are another unique dish name of Changxia. Cut bamboo shoots into three or four inches, put them in a pot and cook them with cooking oil, soy sauce, cooking wine and monosodium glutamate, which means that people's legs are as strong as bamboo shoots and they can travel long distances. Peas with shells are shaped like eyes. In the old society, people suffered from eye diseases. In order to eliminate eye diseases, Chang Xia prayed that his eyes would be as bright and clear as fresh peas for a year by eating peas. Speaking of imperial cuisine, this is another special dish name, and there is an interesting legend among Zhoushan people. According to legend, in the third year of Jian Yan in the Southern Song Dynasty (1 129), Jin Bing invaded the Central Plains, and Zhao Gou, the King of Kang, fled from Lin 'an (now Hangzhou) to Mingzhou (now Ningbo) and crossed the ocean to Guo Chang (now Zhoushan). Kang abandoned the ship and went ashore, followed by nomads from behind. He ran away and trampled the vegetables beyond recognition. Who knows that there was a spring rain that night, but the vegetables grown in this field have strong vitality. The next day, they actually returned to their original appearance and grew lush. Therefore, the people call this vegetable "imperial food", also known as "Junte", which means "vegetables trampled by the emperor". Eating imperial meals in the long summer is because people pray for vigorous vitality like imperial meals, and they are full of vitality, energy, spirit, health and longevity all year round.

The origin and traditional customs of long summer.

As the name implies, long summer refers to the beginning of summer. However, the temperature varies from place to place, and the time of entering summer is actually inconsistent. According to climatology, the five-day average temperature is higher than 22℃ as the standard in summer.

Every year in April of the lunar calendar, around May 6 of the Gregorian calendar, when the sun reaches 45 degrees of the yellow meridian, it begins. Folk customs regard it as the beginning of summer. At this time, the climate in most parts of China is warm and the crops grow vigorously, so the cotton and other crops are managed by intertillage. Agricultural proverb: "Three dynasties and long summers hoe the ground everywhere." And get a year's wealth by setting a sunny summer day. There is an agricultural proverb, "It doesn't rain in the long summer, and the plows and rakes hang high". The old customs make summer a traditional folk festival, which is called "Long Summer Festival". In ancient times, Emperor Tiandi led hundreds of officials to welcome summer in the southern suburbs and held ceremonies to worship Emperor Yan and Zhu Rong. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that people began to taste new customs. In the Qing dynasty, there were more customs such as offering sacrifices to gods, tasting new products, giving gifts, weighing people and making new tea. Up to now, Jiangsu and Zhejiang still have the dietary customs of "eating tonic food" such as eating long summer eggs, healthy bamboo shoots, five tigers Dan and three and a half; In Xuanwei, Yunnan, there is a gate with acacia branches and safflower to suppress sacrifices, and the walls are surrounded by ashes to avoid snakes. Some ethnic minorities in China also have the custom of having a long summer festival.

In the long summer, it is popular in Fuzhou to cook in summer with a tripod. Fixed-edge paste (also called pot-edge paste) is made of rice paste in a pot, with shrimp, shrimp oil, onion, lily, black fungus, clams, or a small amount of seafood clear soup such as mushrooms and dried clams. It tastes extremely delicious. Anyone who grows up in Fuzhou or lives in Fuzhou for a long time loves to eat it. It has become a famous flavor snack and a special symbol of Fuzhou. Fuzhou people who have left their hometown to live abroad, when they hear the word "Dingbian paste" in a foreign country, seem to see the "beautiful image" of their hometown and become a flavor snack that loves their hometown.

"Making Summer" on the edge of "Boiling Ding in Long Summer" prevailed in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. The long summer has entered the busy farming season. On this day, the cooking is not only for the whole family to eat well before going to work in the fields, but also for the neighbors to taste together. Just like rinsing the edge of a tripod, "one grain is cooked" to connect feelings. Reflect the traditional virtues of Fuzhou people as "Silver Village in Phnom Penh".

According to the legend of fixed-edge paste, "making summer" has a deeper meaning. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the coastal urban and rural areas of Fuzhou were often invaded by Japanese pirates. Qi Jiguang led the army into Fujian to suppress the enemy, which was welcomed by people all over the country. Ordinary people often send meals to treat Qi Jiajun. One day, Qi Jiajun arrived in the southern suburbs of Fuzhou, won several victories along the way and decided to rest here for half a day. People in the southern suburbs have long gathered food at home to comfort the three armed forces. Unexpectedly, starting from Changle, another enemy rushed to the southern suburbs of Fuzhou. Qi Jiajun assembled urgently to prepare for the battle. The villagers are cooking, cooking and holding a banquet to celebrate, but they can't hold a banquet. I don't know whose idea it was. Rice is ground into pulp, shredded pork, clams, lilies, fungus, dried clams, scallops and so on. It is mixed and boiled into high-grade clear soup, and the rice slurry is rinsed at the side of the pot. In less than a quarter of an hour, one can after another was pasted. All the soldiers fought bravely after eating, and in less than two hours, all the enemies were wiped out at the seaside. "Doing summer" has the connotation of patriotism and cherishes the memory of national heroes.