Celebrating “Beginning of Autumn”
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- Category: Top News
- Published: Thursday, 15 August 2024 12:04
The “Beginning of Autumn” is the 13th among the 24 solar terms of China. On this day, there are usually some very interesting customs across the country. Then what are the celebrations in Ningbo like?
Beginning of Autumn does not equal to the beginning of autumn
“The day of ‘Beginning of Autumn’ in the solar terms is still in the midst of the dog days, so it does not immediately mean that we are entering a cool autumn season”, said Zhou Dongxu, a folklorist and researcher at Ningbo Institute of Culture and Tourism.
Zhou reminds that although the Beginning of Autumn has arrived, the “scorching hot period” has not yet ended. There is a saying in folk culture about the “dog days in autumn”, which means that there will be some days of scorching weather to deal with after the Beginning of Autumn, and the cool weather will come after the White Dew (another solar term of autumn).
Special food for the Beginning of Autumn
“The folk customs in Ningbo for the Beginning of Autumn are mostly related to food”, said Zhou Jingshu, a folk expert in Ningbo. “Gaining autumn fat” is an important custom of Ningbo people for the day. There is also a popular custom among the people to compare their weight on the day with that of the Beginning of Summer to determine their physical consumption in the summer period. As the autumn draws near, people will usually have a better appetite, and they compensate for their summer physical losses through various means, the most common of which is called “gaining autumn fat”.
“By ‘gaining autumn fat’, we can provide our body with sufficient nutrition, replenish vitality and physical strength, and enhance resistance and immunity. Although it works best to have more meat, it is important to pay attention to a reasonable diet and balanced nutrition, and to combine it with moderate exercise”, said Zhou Jingshu.
Another custom Ningbo people have for the day is knowing as “biting the autumn”. On the day of the Beginning of Autumn, people will prepare crispy melons, watermelons and other fruits to help them cool down and prevent heatstroke.
The word “biting” conveys people’s wish to “eliminate the scorching summer and greet the refreshing autumn”. According to Zhou Jingshu, this custom of “biting the autumn” is quite popular in Ningbo. Although there are slight differences in the specific practice, the customs of eating melons and are generally the same across the country. For example, in Jiangsu Province, there is a custom of eating watermelons in the hope of avoiding autumn heat rash. In some places of Zhejiang Province, watermelons can be eaten together with liquor to prevent malaria. In Hangzhou, there is a custom of “eating autumn peaches”, and the peach pits will be kept until the New Year’s Eve when they will be burned into ash as a token of avoiding plague throughout a year.
According to Zhou, in addition to eating melons on the day, people in some places of Ningbo will drink mung bean porridge. For example, in Zhenhai District and Fenghua District, children will have mung bean porridge to prevent “summer stagnation syndromes”.
In some mountainous areas of Ningbo, there is also a practice of “airing autumn crops”. Due to the scarcity of flat land in the villages, people used to air the crops in the front and back of their houses, as well as on own window sills and roofs, which has gradually evolved into a traditional agricultural custom of “airing autumn crops”
