中国范儿 92 夏至：昼长夜短酷暑将启

Xiazhi or summer solstice is the tenth solar term in the 24 solar terms. It is also the first one to be identified as a solar term. It marks that hot weather is around the corner.

夏至一般在每年公历的6月21日或22日。这一天,太阳直射地面的位置到达一年的最北端,几乎直射北回归线,此时北半球的白天最长,夜晚最短。在北京地区,白昼的时长长达15个小时左右,而黑龙江漠河的白昼时长则超过17个小时。夏至过后,太阳直射点开始向南移动,北半球白昼的时数逐渐减少。

Xiazhi generally occurs on June 21 or 22 in the Gregorian calendar when the sun's perpendicular rays reach the northernmost part of China. In other words, the sun’s rays almost become perpendicular to the Tropic of Cancer. In the Northern Hemisphere, Xiazhi marks the longest day and the shortest night of a year. The length of daytime reaches around 15 hours in Beijing and over 17 hours in Mohe County, Helongjiang Province. After Xiazhi, the sun’s perpendicular rays move toward the south, thus decreasing the daytime length in the Northern Hemisphere with each passing day.

夏至过后,许多地区气温升高,日照强烈,午后至傍晚常易形成雷阵雨。江淮一带空气潮湿,多阴雨连绵的天气,此时梅子达到成熟期,所以又称“梅雨季”。

After Xiazhi, many parts of China will see rising temperatures and strong sunshine. Thunder showers are frequent, especially in the afternoon or around dusk. The Jianghuai Region is particularly marked by moist atmosphere and rainy days. Xiazhi is the time when plums get ripe. So rainy days after Xiazhi are also called “plum rain season”.

古人有“夏至日祭地”的习俗,坐落于北京地安门外的地坛与天坛遥相对应,明清两代帝王每逢夏至这一天都会率领众臣到地坛进行祭地活动,祈盼社稷在帝王的统治下风调雨顺、国泰民安。除了祭地,我国多地民间有夏至祭祖的习俗,与清明祭祖不同,由于夏至通常是一季农忙结束的时候,新的农作物刚刚收获,人们将其制成各种食物,作为贡品敬献给祖先,一方面请祖先品尝,另外也表达感谢祖先保佑丰收的意思。

Ancient Chinese had the custom of worshipping earth on the day of Xiazhi. Located outside of the Di’anmen Gate, the Temple of Earth faces the Temple of Heaven from afar. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, emperors usually led royal officials to worship earth at the Temple of Earth on the day of Xiazhi. They prayed for good weather for the crops, prosperity for the empires, and peace for the people. Apart from worshipping earth, many parts of China have the tradition of commemorating ancestors on the day of Xiazhi. Different from the Tomb Sweeping Day, Xiazhi usually marks the end of the peak season for agricultural activities. People make all kinds of food out of the freshly-harvested crops and sacrifice them to their ancestors. They hope that their ancestors would taste those foods. In this way, they want to convey their gratitude to their ancestors for protecting bumper harvests.

俗话说:“冬至饺子夏至面”,在北方,夏至当天,最不能少的就是那一碗 “夏至面”,家家户户一般都会做凉面食用。在南方的一些地区则有在夏至日吃馄饨的习俗,取混沌和合之意。

As a proverb goes, the winter solstice is a time for dumplings and the summer solstice is a time for noodles. In north China, Xiazhi would be incomplete without a bowl of noodles. Every household will prepare cold noodles on the day of Xiazhi. In some parts of South China, people have the custom of eating wonton on the day of Xiazhi, with an allusion to “harmony and unity out of chaos”.

夏至一到,真正的盛夏也就宣告来临。夏日虽然潮湿炎热,却浇不灭生活的雅趣。古时诗人多有诗句来描写夏至节气,出名的有唐代刘禹锡的诗句“东边日出西边雨,道是无晴却有晴”。万物在夏日生长达到极值,孕育能量,为秋日结果做好准备。

Xiazhi heralds that the summer season will be in its prime soon. Moist and hot though, summer days can never force the people to give up their enthusiasm for life. Ancient Chinese poets created many verses to depict Xiazhi. As one famous piece by Liu Yuxi of the Tang Dynasty reads, “The west is veiled in rain, the east enjoys sunshine. My gallant is as deep in love as day is fine”. All plants are in their prime around the peak of the summer season. They are accumulating energies for ultimate harvests in the fall.

来源：中国网

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