Today is Lixia, one of the twenty-four solar terms.
Lixia, as the name suggests, represents the rise in temperature, the change of seasons, and the beginning of the midsummer season.
During this period, there were folk customs such as "weighing man" and hanging eggs.
In addition, people's diet will also vary with climate changes, such as eating Lixia eggs, drinking Lixia porridge and so on.
Hang Lixia Eggs for Blessing
"Lixia weighs the number of people, and the scale hangs on the beam to laugh at the boudoir." On the day of Lixia, it is popular in many areas in southern my country to "scale people" after the Lixia meal, that is, hang a large scale on the beam at home, and adults use both hands to pull it. Holding the scale hook, the two feet are hanging in the air to weigh the weight, and the child is sitting in the basket to weigh the weight.
If you gain weight, it is "fat"; if you lose weight, it is called "killing meat".
It is said that weighing on this day can bless adults and children from being afraid of the heat of summer and not losing weight.
In addition, many areas also have the custom of hanging eggs in Lixia.
There is a common belief that "Lixia's chest hangs eggs, and the child does not suffer from the summer", and the custom of Lixia's hanging eggs has a long history.
The ancients believed that eggs are round and round, symbolizing the fulfillment of life, and hanging eggs on Li Xia's body can pray for peace and withstand the test of "scorching summer".
Therefore, whenever it is summer, people will put boiled eggs in colorful egg sets and hang them on the necks of children, praying for relief from disasters and good fortune, and to relieve heat and illness.
After the children get the Lixia eggs, in addition to hanging them on their chests to eliminate disasters and pray for good luck, they will also use the Lixia eggs to play the "egg fight" game.
Lixia food customs are different
During the beginning of summer, the food customs vary greatly from place to place. For example, many regions will eat the beginning of summer egg, while some areas in the south will eat traditional food such as beginning of summer rice and beginning of summer porridge.
Lixia eggs.
On Lixia, many regions will eat Lixia eggs, which is the same as hanging Lixia eggs. The purpose is to pray for good health.
On the day of the beginning of summer, people boil eggs at home (and tea eggs are also popular in some areas), hang them on the chest of children to pray for safety, and then eat the eggs to protect them from getting sick in summer.
Lixia Rice.
In some parts of the south, every day before the beginning of summer, children will ask the neighbor for a bowl of rice, commonly known as "Douxiaxiami".
Add bamboo shoots, broad beans, garlic sprouts, etc. to cook, then add green plums, cherries, etc., and finally, distribute the prepared Lixia rice to neighbors who deliver rice.
Folks believe that children can prevent heat stroke after eating Lixia meal.
There is also a saying that Lixia rice contains condiments such as bamboo shoots, peas, broad beans, etc., which means "flourishing grains".
Lixia porridge, Qijia porridge.
Lixia porridge is a traditional snack in Leiyang, Hunan. It is made of rice as the main ingredient, accompanied by more than a dozen condiments such as refined meat, glutinous rice balls, vermicelli, toon, pig offal, red dates and so on.
In addition, in the Zhejiang area, "Seven Family Porridge" is a must in the beginning of summer. As the name suggests, it is a porridge made of rice from various neighbors, plus various beans and brown sugar.
Noodle.
During the beginning of summer, some northern regions pay attention to eating noodles, especially fried noodles and braised noodles.
It is said that the beginning of summer is catching up with the wheat harvest, and eating noodles is a new taste after the wheat harvest in the north.
In addition, eating noodles in Lixia also has a strong physique and means good luck.
Foot bone shoots.
"Eat the bamboo shoots in the beginning of summer, and the bones of the feet will be healthy for a year." During the beginning of summer, people in Ningbo, Zhejiang like to eat the bamboo shoots, which are wild bamboo shoots.
Locals believe that this wild bamboo shoots represent hope and health, meaning that people can grow like bamboo shoots and keep their bodies strong.
Beginning of summer to taste three fresh things.
In some parts of the south, during the Lixia solar term, there is a saying that "Lixia eats three fresh foods".
People think that the Lixia solar term is suitable for eating some freshly marketed foods, and then you can't eat them later.
There are also differences in the three freshness, which are divided into "three freshness of ground", "three freshness of tree" and "three freshness of water".
Disanxian refers to broad beans, amaranth, and cucumbers (also said to be amaranth, broad beans, garlic sprouts); Shusanxian refers to cherries, loquats, and apricots (also said to be green plums, apricots, and cherries); Shuisanxian refers to conch, Puffer fish, shad (another saying is shad, pomfret, yellow croaker).
Beijing News reporter Liu Huan