Lixia, as the name implies, is the beginning of summer. The arrival of Lixia means the end of spring. The temperature will rise significantly, and there will be more thunderstorms. Is the custom of Lixia the same all over the country? Let's learn about it with sihai.com.
What does Lixia mean
Lixia is the beginning of summer.
At the beginning of summer, Dou points to the southeast. The Yellow meridian of the sun is 45 deg;. It is the beginning of summer. From then on, everything is flourishing. It is customary to regard the beginning of summer as the most important solar term for the growth of crops in the peak season due to the significant increase of temperature, the approaching of summer heat and the increase of thunderstorms.
Lixia custom
1. Classic food: Summer egg
Although the traditional food customs of Lixia day all over the country have their own characteristics, the most classic food of Lixia day is "Lixia egg". The day before the beginning of summer, many people began to cook "summer egg". They usually use tea powder or walnut shell to cook, watching the eggshell turn red slowly, and the house is full of fragrance. Tea eggs should be eaten while hot. When eating, pour good wine and sprinkle some fine salt inside. The wine is fragrant, fragrant and tasty.
2. Taste three delicacies in summer in Jiangnan
There are three kinds of local, tree and water delicacies in Wuxi. The three fresh vegetables are broad bean, amaranth and cucumber. Three fresh trees are cherry, loquat and apricot. Three kinds of fresh water are sea snail, puffer fish and shad fish. Among them, tasting three delicacies is the most common; Suzhou has the proverb of "see three new things in summer". "Sanxin" refers to the ripe cherries, green plum and wheat; in Wenzhou, in summer, every family eats huaibai, spring bamboo shoots and green plum.
3. Weigher
The ancient poem says: 'Lixia weighs the number of people, and the hanging beam weighs the laughter of boudoir. The custom of "calling a person" on the day of Lixia is mainly popular in the south of China. It originated in the age of the Three Kingdoms. It is said that after Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang handed over his son, a Dou, to Zhao Zilong and sent him to Jiangdong, and asked his stepmother, Mrs. Wu guosun, who had returned to her mother's home, to raise him.
On that day, it was Lixia. Mrs. sun weighed for Adou in front of Zhao Zilong. Next year, Lixia will weigh again to see how much weight she gained, and then write a letter to report to Zhugeliang, thus forming a folk custom. It is said that after weighing on this day, we will not be afraid of the heat in summer and will not lose weight, or we will be plagued by disease. After eating Lixia, hang a large scale on the crossbeam. Adults hold the scale hook with their hands and hang the scale on their feet. Children sit in the basket or on stools with all their feet in the air and hang the scale on the scale hook, which means that Lixia weighing can be avoided in summer. If you gain weight, you will be called "fat". If you lose weight, you will be called "xiaorou".
4. Don't sit on the threshold
In summer, there is a saying that people should not sit on the threshold. In Anhui Province, ten years of Daoguang's "county records of Taihu Lake", it is recorded: "in summer, take bamboo amaranth as a soup, do not sit on the doorsill, do not sleep in the daytime, that is to say, worry about summer and get tired. 'it's the day when I sit on the threshold. I'm tired and ill in summer. In the records of Ningguo County in the 1930s, it was recorded that 'Lixia was established. To weigh the weight of the human body, avoid disease, so-called not afraid of summer. It's said that if you sit on the doorsill at the beginning of summer, you will be in low spirits for a year. '
In summer, children should not sit on stone steps. If they do, they should sit on seven steps before all diseases disappear. Don't sit on the floor (threshold), it is said that this day's sitting on the floor will cause pain in the foot bones in summer. If you sit on one floor, you must sit on six more floors to synthesize seven numbers to solve the nightmare.
5. Doudou egg
At noon in summer, every family cooked whole eggs (eggs with shells, not damaged), soaked in cold water for a few minutes, then put on the woven silk bag, and hang it on the child's neck. The children will come in groups to fight for eggs. The egg is divided into two ends, the tip is the head and the round is the tail. Some are still drawing patterns on eggs. Children compete with each other, which is called fighting eggs. When fighting for an egg, the egg head fights for the egg head, and the egg tail hits the egg tail. One by one, the losers admit defeat, and finally distinguish the high and low. The winner of the egg head is the first, and the egg is called the king; the winner of the egg tail is the second, and the egg is called the little king or the second king. Proverb: "summer chest hanging eggs, children do not block summer" is a common summer abdominal rise anorexia, fatigue and emaciation, children are particularly easy to block summer. The rope of blocking summer is the long life thread, which is tied on the wrist of children with five colored silk threads to pray for the relief of disasters and diseases, so as to prevent the injection of summer.
6. Eating pancakes in eastern Fujian
In eastern Fujian Province, Lixia is mainly made of "light cake" (flour baked with a little salt). Zhouning, Fu'an and other places in eastern Fujian soak the pancakes in water and then make them into dishes, while Jiaocheng, Fuding and other places split the pancakes into two parts and eat the fried bean sprouts, leeks, meat, sauerkraut, etc. Some villages in Chunchi Town, Zhouning County eat "Lixia paste", a large pot of soup, which is rich in meat, small shoots, wild vegetables, chicken and duck water, tofu and so on.
7. Fuzhou eat Dingbian paste
In the beginning of summer, it is popular in Fuzhou to cook tripod edge and "make summer". Dingbian paste (also known as guobian paste) is made by boiling rice paste in a pot. It is served with shrimp, shrimp oil, onion, golden needle, black fungus, clam, or a small amount of mushroom, dried razor clam and other seafood clear soup.
8. Be disgusted with sneaking and avoid snakes
In summer, Yunnan folk custom pays attention to avoid snakes. According to the general records of Yunnan in the first year of the Ganlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, on the beginning of the summer in April, 'plant saponaceous branches and saffron flowers in the house to disgust; surround the foot of the ash wall to avoid snakes'. In April, snake avoidance is related to the snake of the zodiac. In the earth branch period, the moon is in March and the snake is in April. Lixia is disgusted. There are Acacia branches and red flowers on the door, which contain the meaning of combining black (water) and red (fire). According to the ancient five elements, black is water and red is fire. This is to achieve a balance through mutual restriction between the two.
At the same time, the ancients not only decontaminated with Gleditsia pods, but also used Gleditsia pods as human medicine, believing that it had insecticidal function. Take it as a disgusting thing, and also focus on eliminating filth and exorcism. In the old days of May, there was a custom of hanging Acacia pods. The shape of Acacia pods was like a knife, which was called "hanging knife". It is said that it can scare away ghosts. During the reign of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, the chronicles of Tengyue Prefecture in Yunnan also said: 'in summer, saponifia branches and saffron flowers were planted in the house to hate the victory, and the foot of the ash wall was surrounded to avoid snakes. '
In the Qing Dynasty, a brief chronicle of langyuan county records the customs in Dali, Yunnan: 'in the early summer, insert poplars in the door, sprinkle ashes around the house, named "grey city" to avoid Cobra poison. Different from other areas, poplar stands in front of the door.