What are the characteristics and customs of Xiaoman solar terms?

What are the characteristics and customs of Xiaoman solar terms? Speaking of this villain, it is the eighth of the 24 solar terms. I believe many people are not familiar with this little man. After all, this feeling is not very popular in the 24 solar terms. So what are the characteristics and customs of Xiaoman solar terms?

What are the characteristics and customs of Xiaoman solar terms? 1 Xiaoman solar term is characterized by more gas and more rainfall. For the northern region, the temperature of Xiaoman solar term begins to rise and the sunshine time is the longest. The customs of Xiaoman solar terms include offering sacrifices to the God of Cars, the God of Silkworms, winding around the Three Spirits, harvesting seeds and grabbing water.

Xiaoman is one of our 24 solar terms, but everyone is not as familiar with it as the winter and summer solstice and the spring and autumn equinox. However, Xiaoman also has his own characteristics and customs. Xiaoman solar term is characterized by more gas and more rainfall, but for the northern region, the temperature of Xiaoman solar term begins to rise and the sunshine time is the longest. The customs of Xiaoman solar terms include offering sacrifices to the God of Cars, the God of Silkworms, winding around the Three Spirits, harvesting seeds and grabbing water.

Xiaoman solar terms custom

1, offering sacrifices to Che Shen

Xiaoman Festival is in early summer, which is also the busiest season for farmers. In the old days, irrigation and drainage with waterwheels was an important event in rural areas, so many places had folk activities to worship the car god.

2. Sacrifice to the silkworm god

According to legend, Xiaoman is the birthday of the silkworm god. During the farming period, people regarded silkworm as a thing in the sky. In order to pray for forgiveness and a good harvest, a prayer silkworm festival is held every April when silkworms are released.

3, around the three spirits

"Around Three Souls" is popular in Dali, Yunnan and other places. April 23 to April 25 of the lunar calendar is around Xiaoman solar term, which is called the carnival of Bai nationality.

4. Busy harvesting seeds

In the provinces of the Yellow River valley, April of the lunar calendar is the time to harvest wheat and thresh. Autumn rice is sown in the Pearl River basin, and cotton and soybeans are sown in the northeast. As soon as sorghum grows, weeds must be removed and inferior seedlings must be cut off. The solar term is the time when agriculture is busy.

Step 5 grab water

No matter in the north or the south, crops can't grow without water. Unless limited by natural conditions and without irrigation conditions, farmers have to rely on the weather to eat. As long as rivers and lakes can be irrigated, farmers will make full use of water sources and create conditions for agricultural growth.

Summer temperature rise, long sunshine time and large water consumption are also the key periods for the growth of most crops, so the importance of irrigation is obviously higher than other seasons.

What are the characteristics and customs of Xiaoman solar terms? This paper introduces the characteristics of Xiaoman solar terms from three aspects: meteorological characteristics, agricultural characteristics and phenological characteristics. Let's take a closer look.

I. Meteorological characteristics

The arrival of Xiaoman solar term means that it has entered the rainy season of heavy precipitation, and the rain begins to increase, which often leads to continuous and large-scale heavy precipitation. For the northern region, Xiaoman is often the longest sunshine time among the 24 solar terms. Coupled with the dry air, the temperature in some places in the north can easily exceed that in the south.

In the south, it usually rains a lot.

Due to the active warm and humid air flow in the south, it meets the cold air from north to south in the south of China at the intersection of Huangchi and Jiao Jiao. At this time, there will often be sustained and large-scale heavy precipitation in South China, leading to heavy rain or torrential rain.

Second, the characteristics of farming

In the harvest season, early spring crops are about to be harvested, mid-season rice is sown in an all-round way, and farming is busy, and harvest is grabbed in sunny days and sowing is grabbed in rainy days. However, it is prone to dry weather in the small full season, "storing water is like storing grain" and "preserving water is like storing grain". We should not only pay attention to water storage and drought prevention, but also pay attention to rainy weather that may affect the harvest in Koharu.

At this time, farming activities are about to enter the busy farming season, and the summer harvest crops are mature or close to maturity; Spring sowing crops grow vigorously; The autumn harvest crops will be sown soon.

Third, the phenological characteristics

Waiting for the bitter vegetable show: the "bitter vegetable show" on the day of Xiaoman, bitter vegetable, perennial compositae, blooming in spring and summer, bitter when feeling angry, edible when tender;

Second, weeds die: in the last five days, "weeds die". According to Zheng Xuan's explanation in the Eastern Han Dynasty, weeds are fine-leaved grasses, such as water chestnut grass, which blooms in March and bears fruit in April. Because it was born in Yin Qi, I was afraid that Yang Qi would die in summer;

Third, wait for the solstice of autumn: on the fifth day, summer wheat can be harvested.

The custom of xiaoman solar terms

1, offering sacrifices to Che Shen

Sacrificing the car god is an ancient small custom in some rural areas. In related legends, Erche God is a white dragon. People put fish, incense sticks and other items on the waterwheel to worship. The most interesting thing is that there will be a glass of white water during the sacrifice, which will be poured into the field during the worship, which means blessing the prosperity of the inkstone.

2. Sacrifice silkworms

According to legend, Xiaoman is the birthday of the silkworm god, so when Xiaoman is in the solar term, there is a silkworm blessing festival in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. China's farming culture is a typical "male ploughing and female weaving". The raw materials for women's weaving are mainly cotton in the north and sericulture management in the south. Silk needs to be spun from cocoons, so sericulture is extremely prosperous in rural areas in southern China, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

3. Look at the yellow tip of wheat

After the bumper harvest every year, the wheat matures gradually. In the vast rural areas of Shaanxi, married daughters will go to their parents' homes to pay New Year greetings, and summer is busy with the preparations for greeting. In some places, it is designated as a festival, called "watching the excitement".

At that time, the son-in-law and daughter will bring gifts, such as oil film, oil cake, mung bean cake, pork, apricots, garlic moss and other foods or fruits and vegetables, to express their condolences to their husband's family and be warmly received by his family. As the saying goes, "wheat seedlings are yellow, and women look after their mothers;"

Let go of the flail and let mother see the enemy. "It means that my daughter asked her parents about the preparation of the wheat harvest before the summer harvest; After the wheat harvest, the mother went to visit her daughter again, caring about her daughter's harvest and the work in the wheat harvest. It embodies the heart-to-heart relationship and the deep affection between mother and daughter in productive labor. In Guanzhong area.

4. Busy meetings in summer

In some places, summer busy parties will also be held, the main purpose of which is to exchange and buy production tools, buy and sell livestock, collect miscellaneous grains and so on. And the duration is usually 3-5 days, when big plays will be sung for entertainment.

5. Sacrifice to Three Gods

Xiaoman has the saying of "moving three cars", which refers to waterwheels, ox carts and silk carts. "Sacrificing to the Three Gods" refers to offering sacrifices to the gods who are in charge of the three cars in Xiaoman season, praying for the blessing of the gods, good weather and abundant crops.

According to legend, the "Car God" is the White Dragon. Farmers will hold sacrificial ceremonies in front of cars and water. Fish, incense and other offerings are placed on the bottom seat of the car for worship, and a cup of white water is specially prepared as a sacrifice. When offering sacrifices, pour water into the field to wish the water source flourish.

Step 6 sell new silk

When the silk is ready in Xiaoman season, each family will carry it back to the city and sell it to silk collectors. Generally speaking, in Wudi, the market for buying and selling silk begins in April of the lunar calendar every year, and it is called selling new silk when the night market is established. This is the case in most parts of the south of the Yangtze River.

7. Busy harvesting seeds

In the provinces of the Yellow River valley, April of the lunar calendar is the time to harvest wheat and thresh. Autumn rice is sown in the Pearl River basin, and cotton, wheat and soybeans are sown in the northeast. As soon as sorghum grows, weeds must be removed and inferior seedlings must be cut off. The solar term is the time when agriculture is busy.

8. Bitter dishes

It is the custom of Xiaoman to eat bitter vegetables. Bitter vegetables are one of the earliest edible wild vegetables in China. Spring breeze blows, bitter vegetables grow, and wasteland is a granary. Zhou Shu: Xiaoman Day Bitter Vegetable Show. The Book of Songs: Bitter comes sweet, under the sun. Compendium of Materia Medica: (Bitter vegetables) Long-term use, peace of mind and qi, intelligence and fitness, anti-aging. In medicine, sowthistle is often used to treat fever, and the ancients also used it to sober up.

9. Grab water

"Grab water" is an ancient folk farming custom. Popular in Haining, Zhejiang. When this ceremony is held, many elderly deacons gather in various households, light torches at the dawn of the agreed date, eat wheat cakes, wheat cakes and wheat balls on the foundation of the waterwheel, and when the deacons take drums and gongs as their numbers, a group of people set foot on the waterwheel installed in advance on the river, and dozens of cars tread together to lead the river to people's fields until it dries up.

Dry weather is prone to occur in the small full season, which is very unfavorable to crops. In the old days, farmers used water trucks to irrigate and water, so as to alleviate puppy love.

10, about three souls

"Around the Three Spirits" is popular in Dali, Yunnan and other places, and it is a traditional festival of the Bai people. This festival is a song and dance activity before the busy farming season. This is also a ceremony to pray for a bumper harvest.

What are the characteristics and customs of Xiaoman solar terms? What does xiaoman solar term mean?

Interpretation of ancient books

Twenty-four solar terms: "In mid-April, things are small and full." When it is full, the ears of wheat are full and immature, and everything is a little full, but not full yet.

Interpretation of agricultural proverbs

During the Xiaoman solar term, there are often rivers and lakes in the south of the Yangtze River. If you are not satisfied, it must be a dry and rainy year. There are many proverbs in this regard. For example, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces have the saying that "there is no water to wash dishes"; In Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou and other regions, there is an agricultural proverb, "Little people are dissatisfied, and the field is broken";

There is also a saying in Sichuan province that "the small one can't hold it, but the plow is high." The word "full" here does not mean that crops are abundant, but is used to describe the amount of rain. It has been pointed out that if the field is full of water, there will not be enough water, and the ridge may crack, even if rice is planted, it will not be planted.

Meteorological interpretation

From May 20th to 22nd every year, when the sun reaches 60 degrees of the yellow meridian, it is considered as a small full moon. In Xiaoman solar term, except Tibet, Qinghai, Heilongjiang and Jilin, the daily average temperature in most areas north of the Yangtze River will reach above 22℃ for five consecutive days, and the summer in the climatic sense will begin.

In ancient China, Xiaoman was divided into three stages: "Bitter vegetable show"; Second, waiting for grass to die; When the autumn wheat arrives. " In other words, in Xiaoman solar terms, bitter vegetables have flourished; Some grass with soft branches and like shade began to die in the strong sunlight; At this time, the wheat began to mature.

What are the traditional customs of Xiaoman?

1, robbing water to sacrifice to the car god

In the past, irrigation and drainage with waterwheels was an important event in rural areas. As the saying goes, "when a small truck is full, three cars can start", and the water truck is started when a small truck is full. Previously, farmers held a ceremony of "grabbing water" with the village fair as the unit, which was intended to drill in Haining area.

2. Bitter dishes

In Xiaoman solar terms, a dish that must be eaten is bitter vegetables, commonly known as bitter vegetables. This is because Xiaoman is prone to wet skin diseases, so his diet should be based on refreshing and light vegetarian food, and he can often eat food with the function of clearing away dampness and heat.

Sowthistle is a seasonal vegetable, which has the functions of clearing away heat, cooling blood and detoxifying. Bitter with astringency, astringent with sweetness, fresh with coolness, cool with tenderness, and rich in nutrition. Delicious and healthy.

Step 3 pray for silkworms

Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are rich in soil and water, and sericulture thrives in rural areas. Silkworm babies are very delicate and difficult to raise, so in Xiaoman season, festivals to pray for silkworms will be held in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. There is no fixed date for praying for silkworms. Any family can be held on any day, but the difference is no more than two or three days. Many places in the south have built "Mother Silkworm Temple" and "Silkworm Temple", where sericulture families will bow down and offer wine, fruit and rich dishes.

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4. Look at the yellow tip of wheat

"Wheat pointed yellow, the woman according to the mother. When the shackles are removed, mother looks at the enemy. " In Guanzhong area, daughters who got married in Xiaoman season will visit their parents' homes to meet the preparations for the summer harvest. This custom is called "Look at the yellow top of wheat". You can't go home empty-handed Son-in-law and daughter usually bring oil cakes, mung bean cakes and apricot as gifts.