What are the customs of the vernal equinox?
1 Vertical Egg Folk Custom
Every spring equinox, tens of millions of people all over the world are making "China folk custom vertical eggs".
How to play: choose a smooth and symmetrical fresh egg that has just been born for four or five days, gently stand it up and put it on the table. Although there are many losers, there are also many winners. The vernal equinox has become the best time for vertical egg games, so there is a saying that when the vernal equinox arrives, the eggs will be beautiful.
Why do eggs stand easily at the vernal equinox? First of all, the vernal equinox is a day with the same length of day and night in the northern and southern hemispheres. The inclination of the earth's axis is 66.5 degrees, which is in a relatively balanced state with the earth's orbital plane around the sun, which is beneficial to vertical eggs. Secondly, the vernal equinox is in the middle of spring, which is lukewarm, colorful, comfortable, quick-thinking, agile and easy to succeed in laying eggs. More importantly, the surface of the egg is uneven and there are many protruding "hills". The height of "mountain" is about 0.03mm, and the distance between peaks is 0.5-0.8mm. According to the principle that three points form a triangle and a plane is determined, as long as three "mountains" and the triangle formed by these three "mountains" are found and the center of gravity of the egg passes through this triangle, the egg can stand upright. In addition, it is best to choose eggs 4-5 days after birth, because at this time, the yolk of the egg is slack, the yolk sinks, and the center of gravity of the egg drops, which is conducive to the erection of the egg.
2. Spring Equinox Sacrifice Day
Twenty-four solar terms is one of the first national intangible cultural heritage protection projects, a great scientific experiment summary of the Chinese nation, and a valuable cultural heritage summarized by our ancestors after thousands of years of investigation on the relationship between climate change and agricultural production. The twenty-four solar terms point out that climate change, rainfall and frost period are the results of long-term observation, exploration and summary of astronomy, meteorology and climate by working people in China, which have a very important and far-reaching impact on farming and people's lives. For thousands of years, it has been an "agricultural climate calendar" that farmers attach great importance to. There is a folk song with 24 solar terms: "Spring rains shake the valley in spring, summer is full and summer is hot;" In autumn, the autumn frost falls, and the winter snow is raining. "
On March 20 or 2 1 every year, when the sun reaches 0 degrees of the yellow longitude. It is a day with an average length of day and night, which is exactly half of the ninety days in spring, so it is called "vernal equinox". According to the "Twenty-four solar terms": "In mid-February, it is divided into half, which is half of ninety days, so it is called minutes." Another article, Spring and Autumn Stories, Yin and Yang in and out, said: "At the vernal equinox, Yin and Yang are also half-phase, so day and night are cold and summer."
Among the 24 solar terms, beginning of spring, summer solstice and winter solstice are rich in folk customs and are important folk festivals. The festival connotation of the vernal equinox is also very rich. In some places in China, there are customs such as eating spring vegetables and laying eggs. One of the most important is Memorial Day.
In the Zhou dynasty, there was a ceremony to worship the sun at the vernal equinox. Book of Rites: "Altar." Ying Da Shu by Confucius: "Also called 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."
Ritan is located in the east of Ritan Road in the southeast outside Chaoyangmen, also known as Asahi altar. It is the place where emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties offered sacrifices to Daimyojin (the sun) at the vernal equinox. Asahi is set at the beginning of the vernal equinox. Every year, A, C, E, G and Ren are sacrificed by the emperor himself, and the rest are sacrificed by officials.
Most places where ancient emperors offered sacrifices to the sun were located in the suburbs of Beijing. There was an altar in Beijing in the Yuan Dynasty. Now this altar in Beijing was built in the ninth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1530). It is surrounded by a square outer wall. Before each sacrifice, the emperor would come to the clothing hall of Beitanmen to rest, then change into clothes and go to the Asahi altar for sacrifice. Asahi altar is located in the south of the whole building, facing east and west. This is because the sun rises in the east, and people have to stand in the west and salute the east. The altar is circular, 1 floor, with a diameter of 33.3 meters. Surrounded by short walls, there are 1 stargates in the east, south and north. To the west is the main entrance, and there are three star gates to show the difference. A square platform made of white stone in the middle of the wall is called the altar, with a height of 1.89 meters and a circumference of 64 meters. After the completion of the Ming Dynasty, the altar was made of red glazed tiles, symbolizing the sun in Daimyojin. This was originally a romantic arrangement, but in the Qing Dynasty, it was paved with square bricks, and the altar was inferior.
Although the memorial day is not as good as the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, the ceremony is also quite grand. When the Ming emperors offered sacrifices to the Japanese, they performed three rites, seven songs, eight dances, three kneels and nine bows. The ceremonies of the emperors in the Qing Dynasty offering sacrifices to the sun included welcoming the gods, offering jade and silk, first offering, first offering, last offering, blessing, car dealership, sending gods and meteors, which were also very grand. Today's altar has bid farewell to the era of offering sacrifices to the sun and worshipping God, and has become a park for people's leisure and entertainment.