The origin of vernal equinox solar terms

The vernal equinox is an important solar term, so do you know how the vernal equinox came about? Let me introduce you to the origin of the vernal equinox solar terms. Welcome to read it.

The origin of vernal equinox solar terms

The length of day and night on the day of vernal equinox is average, just half of the 90th day of spring, so it is called "vernal equinox". On the vernal equinox, the sun shines directly at the equator, and day and night are almost equal. Then the direct sunlight position gradually moved northward, and the days were long and the nights were short. The vernal equinox is an important solar term, which not only has astronomical significance: the northern and southern hemispheres are equally divided day and night; Climatically, there are also obvious characteristics. At the vernal equinox, except the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the northeast, the northwest and the northern part of North China, China entered a beautiful spring.

In ancient China, the vernal equinox was divided into three periods: "One is to wait for the arrival of the Yuan bird; Second, wait for Lei Nai to make a sound; Third, wait for electricity. " In other words, after the vernal equinox, swallows will fly from the south, and when it rains, the sky will thunder and lightning.

"Twenty-four solar terms": "(Summer calendar) in mid-February, divided into half, for 90 days and a half, so it is called minutes. Autumn is synonymous. " Han Dong's book "Spring and Autumn Stories Up and Down of Yin and Yang": "As for the mid-spring moon, Yang is due to the east and Yin is due to the west, it is called the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox is half yin and half yang, so it is cold and summer day and night. " The corresponding phenological phenomenon in the ancient Yellow River basin is "the arrival of a mysterious bird, the thunder and the electricity" (see "Nongsang Tongzhi"). At this time, the overwintering crops in most parts of China entered the spring growth stage. A farmer's proverb in central China says, "Wheat rises at the vernal equinox, which is a worthwhile moment." The vernal equinox is also a traditional festival. In the Zhou dynasty, there was a ceremony to worship the sun at the vernal equinox. Book of Rites: "Altar." Confucius' Ying Da Shu: "Also called the vernal equinox." This custom has been handed down from generation to generation. Pan Qingrong won Ji Sheng at the age of Emperor Jing: "The vernal equinox and autumn are a grand ceremony of the country, and scholars should not worship it." Around the Spring Equinox in Qing Dynasty, ministers in the palace paid homage to ancestral temples, and aristocratic families also paid homage to ancestral temples every day. The Chronicle of Jingchu in Liang Zonggu of the Southern Dynasties records: "On the day of the vernal equinox, people planted fire-fighting grass on their houses. Birds are like blackbirds, and chickens crow first. If people wait for the bird, they will go into the field, thinking that they will wait. "In the Ming Dynasty, Zichuan, Shandong planted trees to brew spring wine, which was cool and cool." "Wenshui County Records" contains: "On the vernal equinox, the wine is cold and the flowers move. "

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. 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.

During the vernal equinox, the average daily temperature in all parts of the country rose steadily to above 0℃ except for the alpine mountain areas that do not melt all the year round in winter and the areas north of 45 north latitude. The severe cold has passed, and the temperature rises rapidly, especially in North China and Huanghuai Plain. The daily average temperature rises to above 10℃ almost at the same time as the rainy areas along the Yangtze River and the south of the Yangtze River, entering a bright spring. On the vast land, the willows are green on the shore, the grass is growing in Fei Ying, the wheat is jointing, the rape is fragrant, the peach blossom is red, Li Bai is welcoming the spring, and the yellow is yellow. South China is a scene of late spring. 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.

"Wheat rises at the vernal equinox, and every moment is worth 1000 yuan." In the northern areas with little rain in spring, we should pay close attention to spring irrigation, water saving and jointing fertilization, and pay attention to preventing late frost and freezing injury. South China still needs to continue to do a good job in drainage and flood prevention. Early rice seedling raising in Jiangnan and Jianghuai areas has started, and the weather changes frequently in early spring. Attention should be paid to soaking seeds to accelerate germination when cold air comes, and sowing in sunny days when cold air ends.

The significance of vernal equinox

The vernal equinox is an important solar term, which not only has astronomical significance: the northern and southern hemispheres are equally divided day and night, and the vernal equinox, summer solstice, autumnal equinox and winter solstice are the beginning of the four seasons, so the vernal equinox is the beginning of spring and of course the first day of the astronomical year. Climatically, there are also obvious characteristics. At the spring equinox, China has entered a beautiful spring scenery except the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Northeast China, Northwest China and North China. On the vast land, willows are green, Fei Ying grass grows, wheat jointing and rape blossoms are fragrant.

Equinox time

At the vernal equinox, the sun is between 0 and 15, that is, from March 20th to April 5th, but the day when the sun is at 0 is usually the vernal equinox, that is, March 20th or March 2nd1. On this day, when the sun runs to 0 degrees of the yellow meridian (vernal equinox), the vernal equinox solar terms begin. A day is half of spring, so it is called vernal equinox. On the vernal equinox, the sun shines directly at the equator, and day and night are almost equal. Then the direct sunlight position gradually moved northward, and the days were long and the nights were short.

Geographical phenomenon of vernal equinox

At the vernal equinox, the direct point of the sun is at the equator of the earth, and then the direct point of the sun continues to move northward, so the vernal equinox is also called the rising equinox. On this day, the global day and night are almost equal in length, and the opposite autumnal equinox is also equal in length. After the vernal equinox, the days in the northern hemisphere are getting longer and shorter, and the nights in the southern hemisphere are getting shorter and shorter.

At the vernal equinox, there are no extreme days and nights in the world. After the vernal equinox, extreme days began to appear near the North Pole, and the range gradually increased. The extreme day ends near the South Pole, and the extreme night begins, and the range gradually increases.

Natural phenomenon of vernal equinox

The vernal equinox arrived and swallows began to appear. The ancient vernal equinox is full of mysterious birds. Ye Yan Xuanniao said, "The vernal equinox comes and the autumn equinox goes."

After the vernal equinox, thunderstorms increased. The thinness of yin and yang is thunder. At this point, the four yang gradually prospered, and there was still gloom. Then the thinness of yin and yang is sound. The rhyme society said, "It is difficult to exhale." Shu Zhu said: "hair, still out." Electricity and sunshine are also flourishing, and when it is worth venting, it will be brilliant. Therefore, "Li Jie" said: "Where there is sound, Yang is also light, and Yang is also." "Yi" said: "Thunder and lightning are combined into one chapter. "The Biography of the Ram also said," Electricity, Lei Guang. "Yes, Xu said," Thunder is the sun and electricity is the yin. "Not really. It is obvious that there is electricity without thunder in midsummer.

The origin of vernal equinox and solar terms custom activities

1, spawning

"When the vernal equinox comes, eggs are beautiful." Every year on the vernal equinox, tens of millions of people all over the world are doing "vertical egg" experiments. How this toy, called "China Custom", became a "world game" is still difficult to verify. However, its gameplay is really simple and interesting.

2. Spring Festival

The vernal equinox is also the beginning of the Spring Festival. Spring Festival, that is, the beginning of sweeping graves to worship ancestors, is also called Spring Festival. Before sweeping the grave, a grand ancestor worship ceremony should be held in the ancestral hall, pigs and sheep should be slaughtered, drummers should be invited to play, and the ritual students should read the eulogy and quote three praises.

Step 3 eat spring vegetables

Confucius said, "From time to time, I don't eat." Food has its own season. As the name implies, spring vegetables are spring vegetables.

In Lingnan area, there is a custom of eating spring vegetables at the vernal equinox. "Spring vegetable" is a kind of wild amaranth, which villagers call "Artemisia chun". On the vernal equinox, the whole village went to pick spring vegetables. When searching in the wild, it is often green and thin, about the length of a palm. Picked spring vegetables are usually boiled with fish fillets at home, which is called "spring soup". There is a jingle that says, "Spring soup is dirty, and it washes the liver and intestines. The whole family is safe and healthy. "

Step 4 send spring cattle

It's the vernal equinox, send a picture of spring cattle. Spring cattle map refers to printing the solar terms of all seasons on red paper or yellow paper, and then printing the patterns of farmers ploughing the fields. People who send pictures are generally good at singing. They mainly say some common sayings that spring ploughing and good luck do not go against the farming season. Every time they go to a house, they improvise, make the host happy and give money. Although these words are spoken casually, they are melodious. Commonly known as "spring", spring people are called "spring officials".

Step 5 stick the sparrow's mouth

On the vernal equinox, farmers will eat jiaozi at home, cook a dozen or twenty or thirty jiaozi without heart, and put them in the outdoor fields with thin bamboo forks, which are called sticky birds' mouths to prevent birds from harming crops.

6. Go hiking and fly kites

After the vernal equinox, people began to go for an outing one after another. Flying kites is an important outdoor activity. In ancient times, there was also the custom of drinking sanhua at the vernal equinox. On this day, people of all ages, men, women and children will spend flowers.

Kite, called "kite" in ancient times and "kite" in the north, has a history of more than 2000 years. Both "kite" and "kite" are eagles. In ancient times, kites were mostly made of silk or paper in the shape of eagles, so kites were also called "paper kites" and "paper kites". Later, kites took on different shapes, and most of them were released in spring.

7. Drink spring wine

China, Zhejiang and Shanxi's Vernal Equinox Wine-making Custom. It is recorded in an ancient book: "The wine brewed by the vernal equinox is stored in an urn, and the dross melts after three days. Its color is red, and its taste will not be bad for a long time. This is the so-called vernal equinox wine. "

8. Worship God

The folk festivals around the vernal equinox are February 15, Zhang Kai's birthday: Wang Sheng, also known as "Chen", was a warrior of the Tang Dynasty, Chen Yuanguang, who made great contributions to Zhangzhou and became the patron saint of Zhangzhou after his death. February 19 is the birthday of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Every birthday, many believers will go to Guanyin Temple to worship. On February 25th, Sanshan King Sacrifice Day: Sanshan King refers to Dushan, Mingshan, Jinshan and other mountain gods in Jieyang County, Chaozhou Prefecture, Guangdong Province. In the early years, Chaozhou Hakka immigrants were the patron saint, so the believers were mainly Hakkas.