【节气英语说】秋分 24 Solar Terms: Autumn Equinox

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秋分（autumnal  equinox），农历二十四节气中的第十六个节气，时间一般为每年的9月22或23日。南方的气候由这一节气起才始入秋。太阳在这一天到达黄经180度，直射地球赤道，因此这一天24小时昼夜均分，各12小时；全球无极昼极夜现象。秋分之后，北极附近极夜范围渐大，南极附近极昼范围渐大。《月令七十二候集解》：“八月中，解见春分”、“分者平也，此当九十日之半，故谓之分。”分就是半，这是秋季九十天的中分点。

24 Solar Terms: 8 things you may not know about Autumn Equinox

Autumn Equinox lies at the midpoint of autumn,dividing autumn into two equal parts. After that day, the location of directsunlight moves to the south, making days shorter and nights longer in thenorthern hemisphere. The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the yearinto 24 solar terms. Autumn Equinox, (Chinese: 秋分), the 16thsolar term of the year, begins this year on Sept 23 and ends on Oct 7.

Here are 8 things you should know about AutumnEquinox.

Cool autumn

As it is said in the ancient book, The DetailedRecords of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), "It is on AutumnEquinox day that the Yin and Yang are in a balance of power. Thus the day andnight are of equal length, and so are the cold and hot weather."

By Autumn Equinox, most of the areas in China haveentered the cool autumn. When the cold air heading south meets the decliningwarm and wet air, precipitation is the result. The temperature also dropsfrequently.

Season for eating crab

In this season, crab is delicious. It helps nourishthe marrow and clear heat inside the body.

Eating Qiucai

In South China, there is a custom popularly known as"having Qiucai (an autumn vegetable) on the Autumn Equinox day".Qiucai is a kind of wild amaranth. Every Autumn Equinox day, all the villagersgo to pick Qiucai in the wild. 

Qiucai is verdant in the field, thin, and about20 cm in length. Qiucai is taken back and made into soup with fish, called "Qiutang"(autumn soup). There is a verse about the soup: "Drink the soup to clearthe liver and intestines, thus the whole family will be safe and healthy".

Season for eating various plants

By Autumn Equinox, olives, pears, papayas, chestnuts,beans, and other plants enter their phase of maturation. It is time to pick andeat them.

Season for enjoying osmanthus

The Autumn Equinox is the time to smell thefragrance of osmanthus. At this time, it is hot in the day and cool at  night in South China, so people have to wear asingle layer when it is hot, and lined clothing when it is cool. This period isnamed "Guihuazheng" in Chinese, which means “osmanthus mugginess”.

Season for enjoying chrysanthemums

Autumn Equinox also is  a good time to enjoy chrysanthemums in full bloom.

Standing eggs on end

On Autumn Equinox day, thousands of people around theworld try to make eggs stand on end. This Chinese custom has become the world'sgame.

According to experts, on the Spring Equinox andAutumn Equinox, the day and night are of equal time both in the southern andnorthern hemispheres. The earth's axis, on its 66.5 degree tilt, is in arelative balance of power with the earth's orbit around the sun. Thus it is avery conducive time for standing eggs on end.

But some also say that standing the egg has nothingto do with the time. The most important thing is to shift the egg’s center ofgravity to the lowest part of the egg. In this way, the trick is holding theegg until the yolk sinks as much as possible. For this, you're better offchoosing an egg that's about 4 or 5 days old, whose yolk is inclined to sinkdown.

Sacrificingto the moon

Originally, the festival of sacrificing to the moonwas set on Autumnal Equinox day. According to historical records, as early asthe Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century-256BC), the ancient kings by customsacrificed to the sun on the Spring Equinox, and to the moon on the AutumnEquinox.

But the moonwon't be full during Autumn Equinox. If there was no moon to make sacrificesto, it would spoil the fun. Thus, the day was changed to the Mid-Autumn Day.