What is the origin of the Spring Equinox? What are the characteristics of solar terms?

What is the origin of the Spring Equinox? What are the characteristics of solar terms?
The fourth solar term of the 24 solar terms, the Spring Equinox, falls on March 21, marking the middle of the Spring Festival, when day and night are of equal length. It is a traditional solar term in my country and also one of the solar terms that reflects the changes of four seasons in my country. Generally, when the spring equinox comes, the weather starts to get warmer. So what is the origin of the spring equinox? What are the characteristics of solar terms? Months are divided into lunar calendar and solar calendar. The weather in the second month of the lunar calendar begins to become bright and people begin a new life and work. Pay attention to the special topic of February of the lunar calendar in 2020 on Shuimoxiansheng.com to check the different fortunes for each day!

Origin of the Spring Equinox

The Spring Equinox is the midpoint of the ninety days of spring. One of the 24 solar terms, it occurs around the 15th day of the second lunar month (approximately March 20-21 in the Gregorian calendar) when the sun is at 0° of the ecliptic longitude (the vernal equinox). On the day of the vernal equinox, the sun shines directly on the earth's equator. The seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres are opposite. In the northern hemisphere, it is the vernal equinox, and in the southern hemisphere, it is the autumnal equinox. The Spring Equinox is the New Year in Iran, Türkiye, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and other countries, and has a history of 3,000 years.
"Collected Explanations of the Seventy-two Seasons of the Lunar Calendar" states: "In the middle of February, the word fen means half, which corresponds to the middle of a ninety-day period, so it is called fen. Autumn has the same meaning." "Spring and Autumn Fanlu: Yin Yang Out and In, Parts 1 and 2" states: "The spring equinox is when yin and yang are half and half, so the day and night are equal and the cold and heat are balanced."
The Spring Equinox is also a festival and sacrificial celebration. Ancient emperors had the ritual of worshiping the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. The Emperor of Zhou Dynasty offered sacrifices to the Sun at the Sun Altar. "Collected Explanations of the Seventy-two Seasons of the Lunar Calendar" states: "In the middle of February, the equinox means half, which is half of the ninety days, so it is called the equinox." Another book in "Spring and Autumn Annals: Yin and Yang Out and In, Parts 1 and 2" states: "The spring equinox is when yin and yang are half and half, so the day and night are equal and the cold and heat are balanced."
In folk activities, it is generally regarded as the official start of outing. Activities include: flying kites. Women and children fly kites and write blessings on the kites in the hope that the gods in heaven will see them. Wearing flowers in one's hair while drinking wine, men, women, young and old all wear flowers in their hair. Picking wild vegetables in the wild, Zhu Shuzhen's "Ten Poems on Spring Days": I have no mood to write or play the piano, and I am not in the mood to go outing and pick vegetables.

Characteristics of the Spring Equinox

On the day of the vernal equinox, the sun shines directly on the equator, and the day and night are almost equal. Afterwards, the position of direct sunlight gradually moves northward, and the days begin to get longer and the nights shorter.
The farther away from the equator on the earth, the smaller the solar altitude angle at noon and the less solar heat received. Generally, March, April and May are spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
The East Asian trough has weakened significantly, and the activity of the trough and ridge in the westerly belt has increased significantly. Low pressure activities and cyclone development are common from Mongolia to the Northeast. The movement of low pressure guides the cold air southward, and the northern region is prone to strong winds and sandstorms. When the long wave trough moves eastward, affected by the convergence of cold and warm air masses, continuous rain and late spring cold weather will occur.

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