Four things to do during the Great Heat solar term A comprehensive collection of Great Heat customs in various places

The Great Heat season is the hottest season among the 24 solar terms in a year. So how much do you know about the Great Heat season? How much do you know about the customs of the Great Heat season? Do you know some of the foods during the Great Heat season? Let's take a look.

Great Heat

There are four things that everyone must pay attention to during the Great Heat solar term. Do you know what they are?

◆Great Heat

The Great Heat is relative to the Lesser Heat. The ancients believed that the Great Heat season is the hottest time of the year, so it is called the Great Heat.

As the saying goes, "The heat is in the dog days." In my country, the dog days of summer usually occur on the 28th day after the summer solstice, which is the so-called "first dog day of the three Geng days after the summer solstice". On July 14, 2009, we entered the first dog day of the three dog days.

According to the "China Surface Climate Data from 1971 to 2000", except for most areas of Qinghai, Gansu, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Anhui, the extreme maximum temperatures in July mostly occur during the Great Heat. The extreme maximum temperatures in most provinces occur during the Great Heat.

In most areas across the country, the average temperature in July is higher than that in August. July can be said to be the hottest month of the year, so July is actually the hottest month.

◆Summer vacation

Summer is not always hot: the dense green trees, graceful lotus flowers and refreshing jasmine fragrance bring people a touch of summer coolness; the soft beach, blue sea and gentle sea breeze make it a paradise for people to spend their holidays; in the mountain scenic areas, the pine forests, sea of ​​clouds, waterfalls, mountain springs, gentle mountain breeze and pleasant temperature make it a good place for people to escape the summer heat.

In rural areas, people are used to doing farm work in the morning and watching TV in the courtyard at night; in cities, people like to go shopping, go to the cinema, drink cool drinks, and ride in air-conditioned cars at night... It can be seen that escaping the heat and spending the summer is a natural choice for people.

Heatstroke prevention

In summer, heatstroke prevention is a topic that people always need to repeat. People who work outdoors and the elderly, infants, and patients are the ones who need to pay the most attention to heatstroke prevention. In fact, as long as you take careful measures, summer heat can be completely avoided. Drink more tea and mung bean soup, eat more light food, take a bath and change clothes frequently, ensure adequate sleep, take sun protection measures when going out, do not over-exercise, avoid activities during the noon period, pay attention to the combination of work and rest, avoid driving while tired, and pay attention to the "high temperature alert", "heatstroke index", "ultraviolet index" forecasts issued by the meteorological department, etc. Although it is a cliché, it still needs to be reminded.

Summer vacation

Although the weather is very hot during the Great Heat period, the students are looking forward to its arrival. What is the reason for this?

Because from this time on, summer vacation begins. They will arrange their lives colorfully according to their own wishes. Swimming is an important activity during the summer vacation, and backpacking is also a favorite of college and high school students. The students' laughter and joy often broke the tranquility of the green mountains and clear waters, especially the seaside and mountain scenic spots in the north, which are often their first choice for travel.

It is important to be reminded that you must go to a swimming area when swimming and do not choose unsafe waters to swim; when traveling to mountain scenic spots, you must understand the weather in advance and pay attention to avoid mountain torrents and mudslides caused by heavy rains. Especially when traveling to rainy scenic spots such as western Sichuan, northwestern Yunnan, and western Guangxi, special attention should be paid to safety.

Great Heat Customs

1. Great Heat Customs: Eating "Immortal Grass" 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. Great Heat Customs: Sending "Great Heat Boat" in Zhejiang Province

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 scaled-down proportions 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. Great Heat Customs: "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 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's delicious to eat in the countryside? Just some fresh wheat steamed buns. 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.

4. Dashu customs: eating lychees in Putian

On the day of the Great Heat Festival, people in Putian have the custom of eating lychees, mutton and rice dregs, which is called "celebrating the Great Heat". On the day of the Great Heat Festival, relatives and friends often give each other lychees and mutton as gifts.

5. Dashu customs: Eating pineapples in Taiwan

During the Great Heat Festival, the seas around Taiwan are mostly filled with warm-water fish, including squid in the northeastern waters, small crabs and red snappers off the coast of Keelung, and yellowfin snappers in the Changhua waters. A Taiwanese proverb says: Eat pineapples during the Great Heat, which means that pineapples are the most delicious during this season. In addition, June 15th is the "Half-Year Festival". Since the fifteenth 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 taste, and their symbolic meaning is reunion and sweetness.