The custom activities of solar terms in Grain Rain and their origins
What are the customs and activities in Grain Rain?
1, picking grain rain tea
There is a custom of picking tea in Grain Rain in the south, and Grain Rain tea is also called tea before rain. It is spring tea picked in Grain Rain season, also called spring catechu. The moderate temperature and abundant rainfall in spring, coupled with the recuperation of tea trees in winter for half a year, make the buds and leaves of spring shoots plump, green in color, soft in leaves, rich in vitamins and amino acids, and make the taste of spring tea fresh. It is said that Grain Rain tea on this day can clear fire, ward off evil spirits and improve eyesight. So no matter what the weather is in Grain Rain, people will go to Chashan to pick some new tea and come back to soak in water.
Step 2 offer sacrifices to the sea
The custom of worshipping the sea. Grain Rain Festival is also known as the "strong festival" for fishermen to go fishing. In Grain Rain season, the sea gets warmer, and hundreds of fish go to the shallow sea, which is a good day to go fishing. As the saying goes, "Go online by Grain Rain." In order to go to sea safely and return home with a full load, fishermen will hold a sea sacrifice in the Grain Rain on this day and pray for Poseidon's blessing. Therefore, the Grain Rain Festival is also called the "strong festival" for fishermen to go fishing. In the past, every village had a temple of the sea or mother. When it's time for sacrifice, fishermen carry their offerings to the front of the temple for sacrifice, while others carry them to the seaside, beating gongs and drums, setting off firecrackers and offering sacrifices to the sea. The scene is very grand.
3. Take Grain Rain for example.
There was a custom of "going to Grain Rain" in ancient times. On this day, young women in Grain Rain visited relatives in the village, and some people came back after walking in the wild. The implication is to integrate with nature and keep fit.
4. Eat spring
Before and after Grain Rain, Toona sinensis was mellow and refreshing with high nutritional value, so it was said that Toona sinensis was tender as silk before the rain. People say that picking and eating Toona sinensis in spring is "eating spring". Toona sinensis is generally divided into purple Toona sinensis buds and green Toona sinensis buds, especially purple Toona sinensis buds.
Step 5 enjoy peony
Grain Rain is an important time for peony flowers to bloom, so peony flowers are also called Grain Rain flowers and Fugui flowers. "Grain Rain sees the peony in three dynasties", and the peony appreciation in Grain Rain has lasted for thousands of years.
6. Prohibition of killing five poisons
After Grain Rain, the temperature rose, and pests and diseases entered a high breeding period. In order to reduce the harm of pests and diseases to crops and people, farmers put up grain rain stickers and prayed to drive away evil spirits. This custom is very popular in Shandong, Shanxi and Shaanxi. In the old days, a Japanese Grain Rain painting, Zhang Tianshi, was posted on the door in Linfen, Shanxi, named "Forbidden Scorpion". Shaanxi Fengxiang Scorpion Curse is woodcut, which shows that there is a great demand. It was printed with the words: "In Grain Rain, in mid-March, scorpions showed off their bravado. God chicken bites, poisonous insects turn into water ... "In the center of the picture, the rooster holds the insect with a big scorpion under his paw. This painting is printed with a spell. The saying that the rooster cures the scorpion has been circulating among the people for a long time. Scorpions are also forbidden in Shandong folk customs. Xiajin county annals in the sixth year of Qing Qianlong: "Grain Rain, cinnabar forbids scorpions." The folk custom of "banning scorpions" reflects people's feelings of expelling pests and longing for harvest and peace.
The origin of solar terms in Grain Rain
April 20th or 2 1 in the Gregorian calendar, and the season is in Grain Rain. On this day, the sun reached 30 degrees of the yellow meridian. At noon that day, the sun's shadow was measured with the holy watch, which was five feet, three inches and two minutes long, equivalent to today's 1.3 13 meters. At night, the bucket handle of the Big Dipper points to Chen's position, which is southeast. At this time, it is usually the third month of the lunar calendar, also called Chen Yue or the 12th month of silkworm. The news hexagrams are hexagrams, which indicate that the sun is in the majority and the temperature is already very high, which is suitable for people's daily farming.
"Twenty-four solar terms" said: "In mid-March, after the rain, the soil and paste pulsated, and now its Grain Rain is in the water ... at this time, the grain was covered and planted." Here, the word "rain" has changed greatly from the initial rain to the rain composed of "rain" now. This rain is the early spring rain after the cold winter warms up. The temperature is low, the water mist is fine, it drops with the spring breeze, and it freezes into ice after falling to the ground inch by inch for the night. It's been two months since Grain Rain, and it's halfway through the spring, and the temperature has stabilized, so it's rare to see the phenomenon of hot and cold. At this time, the air is humid and the rainfall is abundant, which is very suitable for the sowing and growth of crops. Rain at this time means "rain breeds all kinds of plants". However, the word "grain" in Grain Rain does not refer to a crop, but to the general term of food crops, which refers to what we call "coarse cereals" in daily life, namely crops and crops.
Grain Rain Festival is divided into three stages. "Duckweed began in the early days", and "Duckweed" refers to the aquatic plant Duckweed, indicating that the water temperature rises at this time, which can meet the needs of duckweed growth. "Singing pigeons blow their feathers for the second time", and singing pigeons are turtledoves. At this time, you can often see turtledoves singing in the trees in the field and constantly combing their feathers with their mouths. "Third-class Dai Luosang", Dai refers to the Dai Sheng bird. In Grain Rain season, mulberry trees grow vigorously, and Dai Sheng birds can often be seen flying among mulberry trees. As the saying goes, "Grain Rain heads, silkworm heads", Grain Rain silkworms twice, and Grain Rain festivals are full of mulberry trees, which provide the best food for the growth and development of silkworms. Silkworm farmers will not miss this great opportunity. Silkworm rearing is also an important way for people to make a living. Silkworms grow well and produce a large amount of silk, which can provide more silk products for people.
Dietary Customs in Grain Rain
First, delicious wild vegetables are just the right time.
Northwest Shanxi picked wild vegetables to eat before and after the Grain Rain Festival. In spring, plants germinate, and fresh willow and poplar leaves are picked home, soaked to remove bitterness, and seasoned after boiling. Picking fresh elm, washing hands, adding flour, commonly known as "puppet". Sophora japonica and alfalfa can also be eaten like this.
In the past, everyone in the countryside had shovels and baskets to pick vegetables. When spring came, they went to dig wild vegetables in the fields. When you come back, take it off and wash it, or make steamed dumplings or seasoning dishes, such as sweet chicory, chicory and gray vegetables. Blanch with boiling water, soak it to remove bitterness, and add chopped green onion and garlic as a side dish, which is light and spicy and has a unique flavor.
In the past, when there was not enough food, the villagers by the river went to the seaside to dig cattail roots, wash them, dry them in the sun, grind them into powder and mix them with food. After continuous rainy days, there is a kind of black fungus similar to laver on the ground in the forest grass, commonly known as "Pueraria lobata" and "Gegulong", which is picked in the rain, washed, blended with salt and vinegar or dried in the sun to make stuffing. It's delicious.
Second, Grain Rain tea.
On this day in Grain Rain, villagers in Taojiang and Anhua counties picked fresh tea and fried it in Grain Rain to make tea, commonly known as "Grain Rain tea", with sesame seeds, fried mung beans and peanuts. Anyone who can drink tea knows, "Eat good tea. Pick flower buds before it rains. " See bud in Qingming Festival, see tea in Grain Rain. The really good tea comes from Grain Rain season and tastes very mellow. According to tea picking experts, Grain Rain is also called "Tea Festival". The tea leaves picked in front of Grain Rain are fragrant and have the best taste. Therefore, it is a good time for Grain Rain to taste new tea and learn new tea. According to legend, drinking rain tea from five grains can cool and disinfect, indicating that it is not easy to get prickly heat and blisters in summer.
On this day in Grain Rain, in addition to drinking "fresh tea before the rain" at home, there is also the custom of drinking tea together to entertain, so there is a folk saying that "the teahouse in March is the clearest". On this day, teahouses all over the country are also decorated to welcome tea guests. Tea friends get together, drink a cup of fragrant and elegant "tea before rain" and talk about their experiences in drinking tea. In the old society, some literati drank "tea before rain" and paid attention to two things, thinking twice before acting.
At first glance, after the tea is washed, it gradually sinks, slowly spreads out, and then slowly stretches and dances up and down, which is full of fun; The second product, dark brown, dark green, fragrant, the entrance turned from astringent to sweet, and the throat was cool and refreshing. Look before you leap, close your eyes and meditate for a long time. It seems that the lake is full of smoke and sails, poetic and picturesque. It is said that Su Zimei, a poet of the Song Dynasty, became very poetic after drinking "tea before the rain" in Shuiyuewu, West Lake, Hangzhou, leaving a poem of "three trips to the waterfront" for later generations.
Third, before it rains, Toona sinensis is tender as silk.
In the past, Beijingers would pick Toona sinensis and come back to fry or mix vegetables. Toona sinensis, also known as Toona sinensis, is a deciduous tree with straight trunk and yellowish brown bark. Often born on sunny hillsides, beside valleys or sparse forests, it is often cultivated by people at the edge of villages, roadsides and houses. The tender buds of Toona sinensis in spring have a unique aromatic smell and are woody vegetables with unique flavor. Can be fried, cold salad, wine fried, dried, pickled. The average family eats Toona sinensis bud gluten, which is fragrant and tough, and Tofu with Toona sinensis leaves tastes better. And the production is very simple. Just wash the Toona sinensis leaves, cut them into fine powder (tofu can be scalded with boiling water first), and mix well with fine salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate and sesame oil. They are green and white, white and delicious.