What is the solar term Great Heat? Are there any customs during the Great Heat?

What is the solar term Great Heat? Are there any customs during the Great Heat?
Introduction: Our country is a typical traditional country, so it has rich folk culture and customs. As one of the 24 solar terms, Great Heat also attracts much attention. So what is the solar term Great Heat? Are there any customs during the Great Heat? Let’s follow the editor to learn more about it. Mr. Shui Mo has carefully compiled a special topic about the sixth month of the lunar calendar. Friends who want to know more about the sixth month of the lunar calendar can read the relevant articles in this topic for reference!

What is the Great Heat solar term?

Great Heat is one of the 24 solar terms in the lunar calendar, when the sun is at 120° of the ecliptic longitude. During the Great Heat period, the Han people have the customs of drinking Fu tea, drying Fu ginger, and burning Fu incense. The "Collection of Explanations of the 72 Seasonal Changes in the Lunar Calendar" says: "The Great Heat is in the middle of June. Heat means heat, and there are two types of heat: small at the beginning of the month and large in the middle. The heat is still large now."
Its climate characteristics are: "When the Big Dipper points to Bing, it is the Great Heat. The weather at this time is much hotter than the Lesser Heat, so it is named the Great Heat." The Great Heat solar term is around the middle of the "Three Hot Days", which is the hottest period of the year, with the highest temperature and the fastest growth of crops. At the same time, various meteorological disasters such as drought, flood, and wind disasters are also most frequent in many areas.

Customs during the Great Heat Season

1. Eating “immortal grass” during the Great Heat in Guangdong
In many places in Guangdong, there is a custom of "eating fairy grass" during the Great Heat season. Grass jelly, also known as jelly grass and fairy grass, is an herbaceous plant of the genus Grass jelly in the family Lamiaceae and is an important plant resource for both medicinal and edible purposes. Because of its magical effect of relieving heat, it is known as "immortal grass". The stems and leaves can be dried and made into grass jelly, which is called jelly in Guangdong and is a summer dessert.
The grass jelly itself can also be used as medicine. Folk proverb: If you eat herbal jelly during the hottest month of June, you will live like a god and never grow old. Grass jelly is one of Taiwan’s famous snacks and can be eaten hot or cold. The appearance and taste of Shaoxiancao are similar to another popular snack in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao region, Guilinggao, which also has the effect of clearing away heat and detoxifying. But pregnant women should not eat this food.
2. Zhejiang Province Sends "Great Summer Boat"
Sending off the "Great Heat Boat" is a traditional folk custom in many fishing villages in the coastal areas of Zhejiang, especially in Taizhou. Its meaning is to send the "Five Saints" out to sea to send away the heat and protect the people. The “Great Summer Boat” is accompanied by colorful folk art performances.
The "Great Summer Boat" activity during the Great Heat season has a history of hundreds of years along the coast of Taizhou, Zhejiang. The "Great Summer Boat" was built in a scaled-down version of an old three-masted sailing ship. It is 8 meters long, 2 meters wide, and weighs about 1.5 tons. It carries various offerings. After the event started, more than 50 fishermen took turns carrying the "Great Summer Boat" on the street, with drums and trumpets blaring, firecrackers blasting, and both sides of the street filled with people praying. The "Great Summer Boat" was eventually transported to the dock for a series of blessing ceremonies.
Afterwards, the "Great Summer Boat" was pulled out of the fishing port by a fishing boat, then set on fire on the sea and allowed to sink or float, in order to wish people a good harvest and a healthy life. People in Jiaojiang, Taizhou have the custom of eating eggs with ginger juice during the Great Heat season. Ginger juice can remove moisture from the body, and ginger juice and eggs can "replenish the body". Some elderly people also like to eat chicken porridge, which is said to be able to replenish yang.
3. Eating lychees to celebrate the great summer heat in Putian, Fujian
People in Putian, Fujian have the custom of eating lychees, mutton and rice dregs during the Great Heat season, which is called "Guo Dashu". Lychees contain glucose and multiple vitamins and are rich in nutritional value, so eating fresh lychees can nourish the body. First soak the fresh lychees in cold well water, and then take them out and taste them when the hottest time of the year arrives. Eating lychees at this moment is the most comfortable and nourishing. Therefore, some people say that eating lychees during the Great Heat has the same nutritional value as eating ginseng.
Lamb in warm soup is one of Putian's unique snacks and high-end dishes. After slaughtering the sheep, remove the wool and internal organs, put the whole sheep into a pot of boiling soup, blanch it, then take it out and put it into a large ceramic jar, then pour the boiling soup in the pot into it, and soak it for a certain period of time before taking it out and putting it on the market. When eating, cut the mutton into slices. The meat is fat, crispy and tender, and tastes delicious.
Rice dregs are made by mixing cooked rice with white rice koji and letting it ferment until it is fully cooked. On the day of the Great Heat, cut it into pieces, add some brown sugar and cook it. It is said that it can "greatly replenish your vitality." On the day of Great Heat, relatives and friends often give each other lychees and mutton as gifts.
4. "Drinking Summer Lamb" in Southern Shandong
In southern Shandong, there is a custom of "drinking mutton soup" on the day of the Great Heat. In Zaozhuang City, many citizens go to the local mutton soup restaurant to "drink summer mutton" on the day of the Great Heat.
The custom of eating mutton in the late summer in Zaozhuang is related to local farming and climate. Zaozhuang is a famous wheat producing area. The beginning of the dog days marks the end of wheat harvest and the arrival of new flour on the market. It is a short off-season. It’s the end of summer harvest and people are tired. It’s time to take a rest and enjoy themselves.
What delicious food is there in the countryside? That means eating a new wheat steamed bun. He made up his mind to kill a sheep, but he couldn't bear to eat it himself, so he brought his married daughter back home, and took his nephew Gou Zi back to his mother's home, to eat new wheat buns and drink mutton soup. Now that your daughter has been brought back, my family cannot lag behind. We will also steam buns made of new flour, kill a sheep, and bring my daughter back to eat the summer mutton. So it became a local custom.
Nutritionists have conducted in-depth research on this and believe that mutton is most nutritious when eaten during the dog days of summer. During the dog days of summer, heat accumulates in the human body. If you drink mutton soup and chili oil, vinegar and garlic at this time, you will sweat profusely all over. This sweat can take away the accumulated heat in the five internal organs and expel toxins from the body, which is extremely beneficial to your health.
5. Eating pineapples during the Great Heat in Taiwan
During the Great Heat period, there is a custom in Taiwan of eating pineapples. Ordinary people believe that pineapples at this time of year are the most delicious. In addition, the pronunciation of pineapple in Minnan dialect is the same as "wanglai", so it is also used as a symbol to pray for peace, good luck and prosperous business.
In addition, the period around the Great Heat is the 15th day of the sixth lunar month, which is also called the "Half-Year Festival" in Taiwan. Since the 15th day of the sixth lunar month is half of the year, the whole family will eat "Half-Year Moon Balls" together after worshiping the gods on this day. Half-Year Moon Balls are made by grinding glutinous rice into powder and then mixing it with red flour. Most of them are cooked into desserts to be eaten, and their symbolic meaning is reunion and sweetness.
Summary: Through the above article, we have a certain understanding of what the solar term Great Heat is and what customs and habits there are during the Great Heat. I hope it can help everyone!

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