Why does beginning of autumn eat melons?

1. Because of ancient allusions. Watermelon was introduced from the Western Regions in the Song Dynasty, and beginning of autumn is the season for picking watermelons, so it is early to eat watermelons in beginning of autumn. 2. In exchange for seeds. On this day in early autumn, relatives, friends and neighbors who grow watermelons give watermelons to each other, not only to exchange feelings and tastes, but also to find good varieties. 3. Say goodbye to summer. Before and after beginning of autumn, the summer heat did not disappear, so we ate watermelon to cool off the heat.

Just after beginning of autumn, I remembered the custom of eating melons in beginning of autumn. In fact, in early autumn, when the weather gets cold, watermelons will fall off the market, and their sweetness and quality are not as good as other watermelons. Why do you want to eat watermelon at this time? Watermelon was first introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions in the Song Dynasty, and the picking time of watermelon in the Western Regions was around beginning of autumn, so eating watermelon was an early adopter in beginning of autumn. According to Banel Qiu Yuzhai's Essays, women in the western regions choose to touch melons in the fields at the beginning of autumn night, which is called "feeling autumn". It may be related to the shape of watermelon like a pregnant woman's stomach. Watermelon giving birth to a son symbolizes giving birth to a son. In the customs of China, "melon" is always closely related to reproduction. It is said that if you can touch a ripe melon in autumn, it indicates that a girl can find a good husband and a woman can have more sons. In order to ensure that you can touch a good melon, you usually choose the melon with a confirmed position during the day and let the woman "touch" it at night. At this time, "touching the autumn" is like a divination activity. With the planting of watermelon, people in this city began to eat watermelon in early autumn. Today, northerners still call beginning of autumn eating melons "touching autumn".