What are the taboos and customs on the day of the Beginning of Summer?

What are the taboos and customs on the day of the Beginning of Summer?
Introduction: I heard from the elderly that if you sit on the doorstep on the day of the Beginning of Summer, you will feel tired and sick in the summer, and will feel listless all year round. If a child accidentally sits on a threshold, he or she must sit on seven thresholds before the taboo can be lifted. So what are the taboos and customs on the day of the Beginning of Summer? Let’s follow the editor to find out below! April is the most beautiful month in early summer. Welcome to April in the late spring season. I will tell you about the beautiful days in April of the lunar calendar. Mr. Shui Mo recommends various festivals in April of the lunar calendar. In ancient times, people attached great importance to the Beginning of Summer.
It is recorded that on the day of the Beginning of Summer, the emperor would lead all civil and military officials to the southern suburbs of the capital to hold a ceremony to welcome summer. Moreover, the emperor and his ministers all wore vermilion ceremonial robes and vermilion jade pendants. Even the horses, chariots and flags had to be vermilion to express their desire for a good harvest and good wishes.
Every year on May 5 or 6, the sun reaches 45° of ecliptic longitude. At this time, "the Big Dipper points to the southeast, and it is the beginning of summer. All things grow at this time, so it is called the beginning of summer."
Regarding the Beginning of Summer, there are various customs and taboos in different places.

1. Egg Fighting

As the saying goes, "If you hang an egg on your chest during the Beginning of Summer, your child won't suffer from summer heatstroke." Summer heat is a common symptom in summer. Patients often suffer from abdominal distension, loss of appetite, fatigue and weight loss. Children are particularly susceptible to summer heat.
On the day of the Beginning of Summer, people boil eggs. In some places, they even use black tea or walnut shells to boil the eggs, which are called "Beginning of Summer Eggs." Place the eggs in egg nests woven with colored threads and feed them to each other. Either hang it on the child's chest or hang it on the tent.
Children play egg-fighting games, and the one with the strongest and unbreakable eggshell wins.
In some places, people tie bracelets for children with five-colored silk threads, which are called "Lixia ropes".

2. Health implications of diet

According to legend, on the day of the Beginning of Summer, one must eat boiled eggs, whole bamboo shoots, peas in shells and other special dishes. According to folk legend, eating eggs on the Beginning of Summer can support the heart, because eggs are shaped like a heart, and eating eggs can protect the heart and spirit from damage; eating bamboo shoots can support the legs, implying that people's legs will be as strong and powerful as spring bamboo shoots, and can travel long distances; eating peas can support the eyes, because peas in shells are shaped like eyes, in order to eliminate eye diseases, people eat peas to pray that their eyes will be as clear as fresh peas, without illness or disaster, throughout the year.
The purpose of these sayings is to pray for the health of important parts of the body, mind, legs, etc., to prevent illness, and to successfully get through the hot summer.

3. Weighing people

After lunch at the beginning of summer, there is a custom of weighing people. An ancient poem goes like this: "At the beginning of summer, people are weighed and their weights are counted; the scales are hung on the beams, and the laughter in the boudoirs is loud."
People hung up a large wooden scale with a stool hung from the hook, and everyone took turns sitting on the stool to weigh people. The scale operator was weighing people while speaking auspicious words.
There are different versions of the folk legend about the origin of the custom of weighing people, but they are all related to Liu Bei's son, Adou.
It is said that Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo seven times and convinced him with his virtue, and Meng Huo was sincerely convinced. He listened to Zhuge Liang's words and followed his advice. Before his death, Zhuge Liang asked Meng Huo to visit the Lord of Shu once a year. Because the day of the instruction happened to be the beginning of summer, Meng Huo went to pay homage to Adou immediately. From then on, every summer solstice, Meng Huo would come to Shu to pay a visit as promised. After Emperor Wu of Jin conquered Shu and abducted Adou, Meng Huo still led his troops to Luoyang to visit Adou every year at the beginning of summer and weighed Adou to verify whether Adou was treated unfairly by Emperor Wu of Jin. He threatened that if Adou was treated unfairly, he would rise up in rebellion against the Jin Dynasty. In order to appease Meng Huo, Emperor Wu of Jin did not dare to bully A Dou. In this way, Adou was able to live a peaceful and happy life.
From this legend we can see people's yearning for a "peaceful and happy" life. Because the beginning of summer brings blessings to Adou, people use this custom to pray to God to bring them good luck.
Another story goes: When Sun Shangxiang returned to Jiangdong, Liu Bei asked her to take A Dou with her for easier care. After a while, Zhao Yun was ordered to come and visit her. That day was the beginning of summer, and Mrs. Sun weighed A Dou in front of Zhao Zilong, and agreed to weigh him again at the beginning of summer next year to see if his weight had increased. This showed Mrs. Sun's careful care for her adopted son. When this saying spread to the people, it gradually evolved into a belief that if you weigh yourself on this day, you won't be afraid of the summer heat and won't lose weight, otherwise you will suffer from illness.

4. Dietary customs in different regions:

1. Five-color rice In the old days, people in the countryside used red beans, yellow beans, black beans, green beans, mung beans and other five-color beans mixed with white glutinous rice to cook "five-color rice", which was called Lixia rice.
2. Eat soft vegetables. In some places in the south, there is a custom of eating soft vegetables (Juntaxai) at the beginning of summer. It is said that after eating it, you will not get prickly heat in summer and your skin will be as smooth as soft vegetables.
3. Eat shrimp noodles. In the old days, people in southern Fujian ate shrimp noodles at the beginning of summer. Shrimp were mixed into the noodles and cooked. The shrimp turned red after being cooked, which is an auspicious color. Shrimp and summer are homophones in Chinese, so this was used to express wishes for summer.
4. Eat "Guang Bing"
In some areas of Fujian, there is a custom of eating "Guangbing" at the beginning of summer.
5. "Seven-family porridge"
In rural areas of eastern Zhejiang, people eat "Seven-family porridge" at the beginning of summer. "Seven-family porridge" is made by gathering rice from neighboring households, adding various beans and sugar, and cooking it into a big pot of porridge for everyone to share. It is said that after eating this kind of porridge, neighbors will live in harmony and concentrate on summer farming and planting.

5. Ear piercing

In the old days, mothers would choose this day to pierce their girls' ears, as it was believed that the holes pierced on this day would not grow back easily.
When piercing the ears, mothers usually do not inform the child in advance to avoid causing pain to the child. Instead, she prepared an embroidery needle sterilized with fire in advance, coaxed the child into her arms to eat eggs, and when the child opened his mouth to bite the egg, she quickly pierced the child's earlobe with the needle.
Some families also pierce the ears of their cats and tie red hairbands on their hair.

6. Avoid sitting on the threshold

It is said that it is taboo to sit on the doorstep on the day of Beginning of Summer, especially for children. It is said that if you sit on the threshold at the beginning of summer, you will feel tired and sickly in the summer, and feel listless all year round.
If a child accidentally sits on a threshold, he or she must sit on seven thresholds before the taboo can be lifted.
The day of Beginning of Summer was also called "the end of spring" in ancient times. Spring goes and summer comes, repeating over and over again, year after year.

Health Preservation in Beginning of Summer

It was recorded in ancient books: "The third month of summer is called the season of abundance and beauty; the qi of heaven and earth interact, and all things blossom and bear fruit." The Beginning of Summer is also called "Mengxia", which means the beginning of summer. At this time, the weather gradually turns hot and plants grow. This season is beneficial to the physiological activities of the heart. People should adapt to the changes in the weather when the solar terms intersect. Therefore, the health care during the Beginning of Summer should focus on the maintenance of the heart.
"The heart is the master of the body", "All organs and bones obey the heart, so it is the monarch", "The heart stores the spirit, so it is used by the spirit". These ancient Chinese medical proverbs all illustrate the important position of the heart in the human body. In traditional Chinese medicine, "heart" means both the "heart of flesh and blood", that is, the heart as an organ, and the "heart of the spirit", which refers to people's ability to accept and reflect external things and to carry out consciousness and thinking activities. The heart's yang and warm energy not only maintains its own physiological functions, but also has a warming effect on the whole body. In ancient Chinese medical theory, man and nature are a unified whole. The yin and yang of nature's four seasons evolve in harmony with each other, and are interconnected and responsive to the functional activities of the five internal organs of the human body. The heart belongs to the summer qi, which means that the heart yang is most vigorous and its function is most powerful in the summer, but it also requires more maintenance.
After the Beginning of Summer, people wear less clothes and their clothes are thinner. Even people who are normally in good health should be careful about catching a cold. If you get sick during this season, Chinese medicine does not recommend using diaphoretic drugs easily to avoid the risk of excessive sweating causing harm to your health. The elderly should pay more attention to avoiding blood stasis and preventing heart attacks. During the Beginning of Summer solar term, one should relax and keep a calm mind to avoid excessive joy or anger which may harm the heart yang. You can eat a little onion in the morning and drink a small amount of red wine after dinner to keep your blood flowing. In terms of dietary maintenance, this season should focus on low-fat, low-salt, multi-vitamin and light food. Suitable foods include lotus leaf and chicken jerky, houttuynia cordata mixed with lettuce, longan porridge, etc., which have the effects of refreshing and nourishing the heart, clearing away heat and detoxifying, promoting dampness and removing phlegm, nourishing blood and calming the mind.
Summary: The above are some taboos and customs about the Beginning of Summer. You can refer to the customs of your hometown to learn more! I hope this article is helpful to you!

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