What day is Greater Heat?

Greater Heat is one of the 24 solar terms in the lunar calendar. The sun is located at 120 degrees of the Yellow Longitude. During the Greater Heat period, Han people had customs such as drinking tea, drying ginger, burning incense and so on. Greater Heat's solar terms coincide with the "mid-volt" in the dog days, which is the hottest period of the year, with the highest temperature and the fastest growth of crops. At the same time, drought, waterlogging, wind disasters and other meteorological disasters are also the most frequent in many areas.

What day is Greater Heat?

Greater Heat time in 2016 is July 22, 2016, and the year of the Monkey in Bingshen is June 19 of the lunar calendar.

What does Greater Heat mean?

The working people of the Han nationality divided Greater Heat into three periods: "one is rotten grass as fireflies, the second is soil moisture and summer heat, and the third is when it rains heavily." There are more than 2, 000 species of fireflies in the world, which are divided into aquatic and terrestrial species. Terrestrial fireflies lay their eggs on withered grass. When Greater Heat was born, fireflies emerged from eggs, so the ancients thought that fireflies were made from rotten grass. The second time is that the weather is getting muggy and the land is very humid. The third weather is that there will be heavy thunderstorms from time to time. This heavy rain weakens the summer humidity and the weather begins to transition to the Beginning of Autumn.

Greater Heat's festive folklore

1. Zhejiang: Greater Heat has been sending "Greater Heat boats" along the coast of Taizhou, Zhejiang for hundreds of years. The "Great Summer ship" was built exactly according to the scale of the old three-masted sailboat and carried all kinds of sacrifices. After the start of the activity, more than 50 fishermen took turns carrying "summer boats" in the streets, with loud drum bugles, firecrackers and praying crowds on both sides of the street. The "summer ship" was finally transported to the dock for a series of blessing rituals. Subsequently, the "Greater Heat boat" was pulled out of the fishing port by the fishing boat, and then lit on the sea, allowing it to rise and fall, so as to wish people a bumper harvest and a healthy life.

2. Putian: on the Summer Festival, Putian people have the custom of eating litchi, mutton and rice dregs, which is called "passing Greater Heat". On the day of the Great Summer Festival, litchi and mutton are often used as gifts between relatives and friends.

3. Taiwan: during the Summer Festival, the waters around Taiwan are mostly covered with warm-water fish, squid in the northeast, small rolls in the outer waters of Keelung, Chizong and Changhua, yellowfin bream, and so on. Taiwanese proverb: Greater Heat eats pineapples, saying that pineapples are the best in this season. In addition, June 15 is the "half-year's Day". Since June 15 of the lunar calendar is half of the whole year, the whole family will eat half a year together after worshiping the gods on this day. The half-year circle is made from glutinous rice and rubbed with red noodles, mostly cooked into sweets to taste, symbolizing reunion and sweetness.

4. Japan: Greater Heat Solar terms Japanese Association set up long bamboo tubes in the community and put the cooked noodles in the bamboo tubes to cool them with water for everyone to taste. It is said that after eating this kind of bamboo tube cold noodles, you won't get heatstroke in summer.

5. Drinking summer sheep: many areas in Shandong have the custom of "drinking summer sheep" (that is, mutton soup) on the day Greater Heat arrives. In Zaozhuang City, many citizens Greater Heat went to the local mutton soup restaurant to drink summer sheep.

6. Cricket fighting: Greater Heat is the season with the most crickets in the countryside. People in some parts of China have the custom of fighting crickets after dinner.

7. Eating fairy grass: there is a custom of "eating fairy grass" in many places in Guangdong during Greater Heat's season. Fairy grass, also known as cool powder grass, fairy grass, Labiatae herbaceous plants, is an important medicinal and edible plant resources. Because of its magical summer-relieving effect, it is known as "fairy grass". Dried stems and leaves can be made into roasted immortal grass. In Guangdong, it is called cold powder, which is a dessert for relieving summer heat.

8. Eating pineapples: during the period of Greater Heat, there was a custom of eating pineapples in Taiwan, and people of the Han nationality thought that pineapples were the most delicious in this season. In addition, the Taiwanese pronunciation of pineapple is the same as that of "Wanglai", so it is also used as a symbol of peace and auspiciousness and business prosperity.