Detailed explanation of autumnal equinox
First, the time between day and night is equal, with long days and short nights, and short days and long nights. On this day, the sun reaches the longitude of 180 degrees, and directly points to the equator of the earth, so in most parts of the world, 24 hours are divided equally between day and night, each being 12 hours; Near the North Pole and the South Pole, the special phenomenon of "the sun circles on the horizon all day" can be observed on this day.
Second, the climate changed from hot to cold. According to the division of seasons in ancient China, which started with beginning of spring, Changxia, beginning of autumn and beginning of winter, the autumnal equinox is divided into 90 days in autumn and divided equally in autumn.
The autumnal equinox is one of the 24 solar terms of traditional festivals in China. On September 22nd, 23rd or 24th of Gregorian calendar, the sun reaches 180 degrees. The meaning of the "twenty-four solar terms" in the autumnal equinox: "See the vernal equinox in mid-August". "Divide" means to divide day and night equally. Like the vernal equinox, the sun shines directly at the equator of the earth, and day and night are equal. From then on, direct sunlight began to enter the southern hemisphere, and the northern hemisphere began to have shorter days and longer nights, and the temperature dropped, which was of universal significance throughout the country. At the autumnal equinox, "fen" means "half". At the autumnal equinox, most parts of the earth are equally divided day and night, each with 12 hours. Near the North Pole (90 north latitude) and the South Pole (90 south latitude), the special phenomenon that "the sun circles on the horizon all day" can be observed on this day. After the autumnal equinox, the days in the northern hemisphere are short and the nights in the southern hemisphere are long. The characteristics of the autumnal equinox The autumnal equinox solar terms are special among the 24 solar terms. The climate of the autumnal equinox At the autumnal equinox, most parts of China have entered a cool autumn. The cold air from the south meets the warm and humid air that gradually decays, resulting in continuous precipitation and the temperature dropping again and again. As people often say, it's time for "an autumn rain and a cold", but the daily precipitation after the autumnal equinox will not be great. At this time, the field farming in the south and the north is different. In northern China, there is an agricultural proverb that says: "The white dew is early, the cold dew is late, and it is the right time to plant wheat in the autumn equinox." Proverbs clearly stipulate the sowing time of winter wheat in this area; And "White clouds come in autumn equinox, good songs and good rice seeds are everywhere" reflects the planting time of rice in Jiangnan area. In addition, the taboos of working people on the solar terms of the autumnal equinox are also summed up as proverbs, such as "the autumnal equinox is only afraid of lightning, and more meters are more expensive." Vernal equinox -3/2 1
Summer solstice-June 22nd
Autumnal Equinox-September 23rd
Winter solstice-12/22
Analogy in turn
From the winter solstice, the day becomes longer and longer, but from the vernal equinox, the day is longer than the night, from the summer solstice, the day becomes shorter and shorter, but from the autumnal equinox, the day is shorter than the night.
Reason: The winter solstice is the tropic of Capricorn, with the shortest day in the northern hemisphere, and then it moves northward, and the days are getting longer and longer. After the vernal equinox, the direct point of the sun moves to the northern hemisphere, and then the days are longer than the nights.
The custom of autumnal equinox
The autumnal equinox is the official beginning of stepping on autumn.
1, autumn festival to the moon
The autumnal equinox used to be the traditional "Festival of Sacrificing the Moon". For example, in ancient times, there was a saying that "the sun is sacrificed in spring and the moon is sacrificed in autumn". Now Mid-Autumn Festival comes from the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. According to textual research, the original "Moon Festival" was set on the day of "Autumn Equinox", but there is not always a full moon because of the different days of August in the lunar calendar every year. And the moon without the moon is a big spoil the fun. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival was later transferred from the Equinox to the Mid-Autumn Festival.
According to historical records, as early as the Zhou Dynasty, ancient emperors had the custom of offering sacrifices to the sun at the vernal equinox, to the earth at the summer solstice, to the moon at the autumnal equinox, and to heaven at the winter solstice. Its places of worship are called Ritan, Ditan, Yuetan and Tiantan. It is located in four directions: southeast and northwest. So far, there are many historical sites in China, such as Yue Bai Altar, Moon Pavilion and Moon Tower. The folk custom of offering sacrifices to the moon varies from region to region.
The "Moon Altar" in Beijing was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and was used for royal sacrifice to the moon. "The Year of China in Beijing" records the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon in Beijing, saying: "On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, people set up the symbol of the Moon Palace, and rabbits stood on it like people; Chen Guaguo was in court; The cake surface is painted with the moon palace toad rabbit; Men and women worship incense and burn it. " There is also a special custom of offering sacrifices to the moon in Beijing, that is, "Men don't offer sacrifices to the moon, but worship more", that is, as the folk proverb says, "Men don't Yue Bai".
Step 2 eat autumn vegetables
In Lingnan area, Xie's family in Cangzhen, Kaiping used to be four cities (now Heshan is five cities), and there is an unbroken custom called "eating autumn vegetables at the autumnal equinox". "Autumn vegetable" is a kind of wild amaranth, which villagers call "autumn Artemisia". On the autumnal equinox, the whole village went to pick autumn vegetables. When searching in the wild, it is often green and thin, about the length of a palm. Picked autumn vegetables are usually boiled with fish fillets at home, which is called "autumn soup". There is a jingle: "autumn soup is dirty, wash the liver and intestines." The whole family is safe and healthy. "Since autumn, people still pray for peace and health at home.
Amaranth contains many nutrients. Rich carotene and vitamin C help to enhance human immune function and improve the anti-cancer effect of human body. Fried amaranth has the effects of detoxification, diuresis, analgesia and eyesight improvement. Eating it can enhance the ability of disease prevention, be healthy and less sick, and moisturize and beautify. It is suitable for dysentery, conjunctival congestion, sparrow blindness, breast abscess, hemorrhoids and other diseases.
In fact, the so-called "autumn soup" in Lingnan customs is consistent with the autumn tonic advocated by Chinese medicine, but Lingnan customs are typical and a little rustic, and have not risen to the height of Chinese medicine theory.
Step 3 send autumn cattle
The autumnal equinox is coming soon, and people will send pictures of autumn cows door to door. The picture is printed with red paper or yellow paper on the lunar solar terms all the year round, and also printed with farmers' ploughing patterns, which is called "Autumn Cattle Map". The pictures are all folk singers, mainly talking about good luck in autumn ploughing that does not violate the farming season. Every time they go to a house, they say whatever they see until the owner is happy to give money. Although the words spoken are casual, every sentence rhymes beautifully. Commonly known as "Autumn", Qiu Ren is called "Qiu Guan".
4 sticky finch mouth
According to custom, farmers have a holiday on the autumn equinox. Every family should eat dumplings. Ten, twenty or thirty dumplings that don't need to be wrapped are cooked, and a thin bamboo fork is placed on the outdoor ridge beside the field, which is called sticking the sparrow's mouth without destroying crops.
Of course, it is only the farmers' beautiful imagination and desire to stick dumplings on sparrows' mouths, but it also illustrates the truth that dumplings are sticky, difficult to digest and should not be eaten more. Tangyuan is mainly made of glutinous rice with other ingredients. Glutinous rice is warm and sweet, and the added ingredients are often high in sugar and calories. Eating a small amount in spring and cold season is helpful to replenish body heat energy, tonify deficiency, regulate blood, strengthen yang and strengthen spleen. But glutinous rice is sticky and difficult to digest, and it is easy to accumulate food if you eat too much. Paired with spicy food such as onion and garlic, it can balance the flagging effect of glutinous rice balls.
5 fly a kite
The autumn equinox is also a good time for children to fly kites. Especially at the autumnal equinox. Even adults are involved. Kites are divided into Wang Zi Kite, Silver Carp Kite, Myxomoth Kite, Leigong Kite and Moon Light Kite. The biggest kite is two meters high, and the smallest one is two or three feet. There are kites on the market, many of which are smaller than others' and suitable for children to play with, but most of them are posted by themselves, and the bigger ones have to compete with each other to see which one flies high.
Be a noodle bird and eat a noodle bird.