What
Beginning of Summer is the seventh solar term among the twenty-four solar terms in China, usually on May 5 or 6 every year. It marks the end of spring and the beginning of summer. But for the Chinese, Beginning of Summer is never just about "getting hotter" - it's a signal that "everything starts to grow up."
Why
Why is the beginning of summer so important?
- Agricultural reasons: In the Beginning of Summer, winter wheat begins to "fill" (the grains are full), and early rice begins to be transplanted. "Look at the summer at the beginning of summer" - From the weather on the day of the beginning of summer, the harvest of the entire summer can be predicted. If the day of Beginning of Summer is sunny, farmers will be happy; if it rains, they will be worried.
- Physical reasons: Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the beginning of summer is about "nourishing the heart". Summer corresponds to the heart, and the heart governs the blood vessels. During the Beginning of Summer, the human body's Yang Qi begins to dissipate, and the burden on the heart increases. Chinese people eat "red foods" (red dates, red beans, tomatoes) to "nurture the heart" - the color red enters the heart.
- Cultural reasons: Beginning of Summer is the day when Chinese people "weigh themselves". "People are called people at the beginning of summer, and people are called people at the beginning of autumn." From the beginning of summer to the beginning of autumn, look at the changes in weight. This custom is very practical: appetite decreases in summer and it is easy to lose weight. Weighing yourself is a reminder to pay attention to your nutrition.
How
Three major customs of the Beginning of Summer:
- Eat eggs in the Beginning of Summer: "Eating eggs in the Beginning of Summer will break them if you step on them." On the day of Beginning of Summer, Chinese people eat boiled eggs, which symbolizes "replenishing physical strength". Children will put the eggs in colorful net bags and hang them on their chests. This is the "ritual" of the Beginning of Summer - using the "round" of the egg to symbolize the "completeness" of summer.
- Eat five-color rice: In some places, "five-color rice" is eaten at the beginning of summer - rice cooked with five colors of ingredients (red, yellow, green, white, and black). The five colors correspond to the five elements, and eating five-color rice is to "harmony the body." This is the Chinese "color salad".
- Weighing: On the day of Beginning of Summer, the whole family, old and young, weigh themselves together. Adults record numbers, while children treat scales as toys. This custom is not "weight loss", but "health monitoring". It is easy to lose weight in summer, so weighing yourself is to "replenish nutrition in time."
When
The best scene in the beginning of summer: the wheat field in the morning. The sun shines on the wheat ears, and the wheat ears begin to turn yellow. The wind blew through the wheat fields, and the wheat waves rolled. Farmers stand on the ridge of the fields and watch their crops grow day by day. This is the moment of "hope" - from a seed to a golden patch.
Where
At Giaokz.com in Florence, we cook "Lixia Eggs" and "Five Color Rice" on the Beginning of Summer. The Italian guests were curious about the five-color rice: "Why are your rice five colors?" I said, "Because summer is the season when all things grow, and we have to use five colors to 'eat' the energy of the entire summer."
One Word
Long (zhǎng)
The core of "Lixia" is "long". It's not the "长" (cháng) of "length", but the "长" (zhǎng) of "growth". After the Beginning of Summer, everything begins to grow rapidly. Wheat ears are filling, rice is jointing, leaves are luxuriant - everything is "growing". Summer for Chinese people is not "hot", but "long". Grow taller, grow stronger, and grow hope.
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> 💡 Remember the Beginning of Summer in one sentence: The Beginning of Summer is a signal that "all things begin to grow" - the arrival of summer is not a change in temperature, but an explosion of vitality.