Our country has attached great importance to the Beginning of Summer solar term since ancient times. According to records, on the day when summer began in the Zhou Dynasty, the emperor would lead all civil and military officials to the southern suburbs outside the capital to welcome the summer, hold a ceremony to worship Emperor Yan and Zhu Rong, and instruct Situ and other officials to go to various places to encourage farmers to step up farming. "Book of Rites." It is said in the "Moon Order": "On the day of the Beginning of Summer, the emperor personally led the three princes, nine ministers, princes, and officials to welcome the summer in the southern suburbs. When he returned, he rewarded, granted the princes, and celebrated the grant. Everyone was happy." In ancient times, welcoming The dresses and jade worn by Xia's team, the carriages and horses they ride in, and even the flags on the carriages are all red, which indicates that the hot summer is coming.
To this day, there are still many traditional customs left behind.
1． Hanging eggs and fighting eggs At noon on the day of the Beginning of Summer, every household boils whole eggs (boiled eggs in shells and cannot be damaged), soaks them in cold water for a few minutes, then puts them in a silk mesh bag that has already been woven and hangs them around the child's neck. The children gathered together in twos and threes to play egg fighting. The egg has two ends, the pointed one is the head and the round one is the tail. When fighting eggs, the head of the egg fights the head of the egg, and the tail of the egg hits the tail of the egg. Fight one by one, the loser will admit defeat, and the winner will be decided in the end. The winner of the egg head is ranked first, and the egg is called the big king; the winner of the egg tail is ranked second, and the egg is called the little king or the second king.
There is a custom of not sitting on the threshold of the summer festival. In Anhui, it is recorded in "Taihu County Chronicles" in the 10th year of Daoguang's reign: "On the beginning of summer, take bamboo shoots and amaranth for soup, and warn each other not to sit on the doorstep or take a nap during the day. It is said that people are tired and sick in the summer." It is said that sitting on the doorstep on this day, in the summer Will be tired and sick.
2. The custom of addressing people by addressing them is carried out after lunch in the Beginning of Summer. People hang a large wooden scale at the entrance of the village or at the gate of the platform, and a stool is hung on the scale hook. Everyone sits on the stool one by one to weigh themselves. The person weighing the scales said auspicious words while weighing the flowers. The old man said: "The weight is eighty-seven, and the life is ninety-one." The girl said: "One hundred and five kilograms, people outside the army come to the door. Don't agree, don't agree, don't agree, the number one scholar is destined." The child said: "If you weigh the flowers, you will get twenty-three. If you are a small official, you will be successful when you grow up.
If you are a county magistrate of the seventh grade, don't get into trouble. It is easy to climb up to three officials and nine ministers." When weighing the flowers, you can only get one ( That is, counting from a small number to a large number), not from the outside to the inside.
As for the origin of the custom of "calling people" in the Beginning of Xia, folklore is related to the story of Meng Huo and Liu Adou. It is said that Meng Huo was subdued by Zhuge Liang and after surrendering to the Shu Kingdom, he followed Zhuge Liang's advice. On his deathbed, Zhuge Liang asked Meng Huo to visit the Lord of Shu once a year. The day of Zhuge Liang's instructions happened to be the beginning of summer that year, and Meng Huo immediately went to pay homage to Adou. From then on, Meng Huo came to visit me every summer. Many years later, Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty, destroyed Shu and kidnapped Adou. Meng Huo did not forget the great trust of the prime minister. Every year in the beginning of summer, he led his troops to Luoyang to visit Adou. Every time he went, he would weigh Adou to verify whether Adou had been mistreated by Emperor Wu of Jin. He threatened that if he treated Adou badly, he would raise an army to attack Jin. In order to deceive Meng Huo, Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty cooked glutinous rice and peas to make lunch for Adou on the Beginning of Summer every year. Adou saw the glutinous and fragrant peas and glutinous rice, and his appetite increased greatly. When Meng Huo went to the city to pay his respects, he was a few kilograms heavier than the previous year every time. Although Adou had no skills, Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty did not dare to treat him badly because of Meng Huo's act of becoming a man in the Lixia period, and his life was peaceful, with good fortune and longevity. Although this legend differs from historical facts, what the people hope for is a peaceful world of "peace and happiness, happiness and longevity". Lixia said that people can bring blessings to Adou, and people also prayed to God to bring them good luck.
3. Beginning of Summer Rice On the day of the Beginning of Summer, people in many places mix red beans, soybeans, black beans, green beans, mung beans and other five-color beans with white japonica rice to cook "five-color rice". Later, it developed into glutinous rice cooked with Japanese bean meat. It is called "beginning of summer rice".
The Beginning of Summer rice in many areas in the south is glutinous rice mixed with peas. Special dishes such as boiled eggs, whole bamboo shoots, and shelled peas are placed on the table. The local custom is to eat eggs in pairs, bamboo shoots in pairs, and peas are not counted. According to folklore, the main reason for eating eggs in the Beginning of Summer is to eat eggs. Because the egg is shaped like a heart, people believe that eating the egg can replenish the heart and spirit. After the Beginning of Summer comes the hot summer. In order to prevent the body from being depleted in the hot summer, the Beginning of Summer should take supplements. The proverb Sheng means "prosperous life", which means that a person's legs are as strong and powerful as spring bamboo shoots and can walk long distances, which means the main leg. The shelled peas are shaped like eyes. In ancient times, there were many eye diseases. In order to get rid of eye diseases, people ate peas to pray that their eyes would be as clear as fresh peas and that they would be free from disease and disaster.
The Beginning of Summer custom in Ningbo is to eat "foot bone bamboo shoots", which are cooked with black bamboo shoots. Each one is three to four inches long and is not cut open. When eating, you need to pick two bamboo shoots of the same thickness and eat them in one bite. It is said that eating it can "keep your feet and bones strong"
(good health). Next, eat soft vegetables. They say you won’t get prickly heat in the summer after eating them, and your skin will be as delicate as soft vegetables.
People in Changsha, Hunan Province, eat soup balls made of glutinous rice flour mixed with wormwood on the beginning of summer, called "beginning of summer soup".
Folk proverbs say, "If you eat the Beginning of Summer soup, you will step into a pit with stones." Yan.
Farmers in suburban counties of Shanghai use wheat flour and sugar to make inch-long strips of food called "wheat silkworms" on the first day of summer. People eat them to avoid "sick summer".
Folks in Tongshan County, Hubei Province regard the Beginning of Summer as a grand festival. Tongshan people eat pickles (strawberries), shrimps and bamboo shoots at the beginning of summer. Foot bones”.
In southern Fujian, people eat shrimp noodles at the beginning of summer. They buy shrimps and mix them into noodles to cook. The shrimps turn red when cooked, which is an auspicious color. Shrimp is a homophone for summer, which expresses wishes for summer. .
In the Beginning of Summer in eastern Fujian, people mainly eat "light cakes" (baked with flour and a little salt).
Zhouning, Fu'an and other places in eastern Fujian soak the cakes in water and make them into dishes, while Jiaocheng, Fuding and other places cut the cakes in half and fry the bean sprouts and leeks. , meat, bad vegetables, etc. and eat them.
Some villages in Chunchi Town, Zhouning County eat "Lixia paste". There are two main types, one is rice paste and the other is sweet potato paste. The soup is boiled in a big pot. The soup is very rich, including meat, bamboo shoots, wild vegetables, chicken and duck offal, tofu, etc. Neighbors invite each other to drink the soup. This is somewhat similar to the custom of eating "Qijia porridge" at the beginning of summer in rural areas of eastern Zhejiang. "Qijia Porridge" and "Qijia Tea" can also be regarded as another form of trying new things in the Beginning of Summer. "Qijia Porridge" collects rice from neighboring families, adds various beans and brown sugar, and cooks it into a rice porridge. A big pot of porridge for everyone to share. "Qijia Tea" means that each family brings their own newly roasted tea leaves, mixes them, cooks or brews them into a large pot of tea, and then everyone sits together and drinks it.
These porridge or tea may not be very delicious food, but these rituals can be said to be important social activities in the old rural society.