What are the origins and customs of beginning of autumn?

First, the origin of beginning of autumn

As early as the Zhou Dynasty, on the day of beginning of autumn, Emperor Tiandi personally led the princes and doctors of the Three Kingdoms and Nine Counties to the western suburbs to welcome autumn and hold a sacrificial ceremony. In the Han Dynasty, this custom was followed, and animals were sacrificed to show Qiu Lai's intention to promote martial arts. People have the custom of predicting whether the weather will be cold or hot when they are in beginning of autumn. Later, generation after generation, beginning of autumn gradually became a traditional season reflecting the four seasons.

Second, the customs of beginning of autumn.

1, Sacrifice to the Land God: Autumn is the harvest season, and there is a folk custom of offering sacrifices to the Land God to celebrate the harvest. ?

2. Eat autumn melons: In the south, there is a custom of "beginning of autumn eats autumn melons". Eat more watermelons in autumn to prevent autumn dryness and form a custom for a long time. The Records of the Capital published in the Republic of China recorded: "beginning of autumn ate watermelon the day before, which is called gnawing autumn." It also means welcoming the arrival of autumn.

3. Sticking autumn fat: It is popular among the people to weigh people by hanging scales in early autumn and compare them with those in long summer to test their obesity. Losing weight is called "bitter summer". At that time, people often judged health only by being fat and thin. Of course, weight loss needs to be "supplemented", and the way to make up is to "paste autumn fertilizer".

Climate change in early autumn

Entering autumn means rain, storm, humidity, etc. It is at the turning point of the year and tends to decline or decrease. Seasonal changes, rainfall, rainstorm, dry and wet changes are obvious in southern China.

In the north, the obvious change is the temperature. After entering autumn, in nature, the qi of Yin and Yang began to change, everything began to grow from lush to mature, and the climate began to transition from rainy and humid in summer to dry and rainy in autumn.