Start of Summer, the first solar term of summer, marks the official beginning of the first month of summer. After this, the hot summer will arrive, and there will be more thunderstorms.
Unmissable Foods for the Start of Solar Term
1. Start of Summer Eggs
On Start of Summer, the most classic food is the Start of Summer egg. People eat boiled eggs or salted duck eggs, believing that this can strengthen the body. The day before Start of Summer, families start boiling the eggs, usually with tea leaves or walnut shells, watching the eggshells slowly turn red and fill the room with a fragrant aroma. The tea eggs should be eaten while hot, with a good Shaoxing wine poured over them and a sprinkle of fine salt. The aroma of the wine and tea makes them fragrant and flavorful.
2. Guangbing
In the Mindong region of Fujian, eating "Guangbing" (a type of flatbread made from flour with a little salt and baked) is the main custom for Start of Summer. In some places, Guangbing is soaked in water and then made into a dish, while in others, it is cut in half and filled with stir-fried bean sprouts, chives, meat, pickled vegetables, etc., and eaten.
Seven Families' Congee
In the rural areas of Zhejiang, it is a must to eat "Seven Families' Congee" on Start of Summer, also known as drinking "Seven Families' Tea". Seven Families' Congee is made by gathering rice from neighbors, adding various beans and brown sugar, and cooking it all into a large pot to be shared by everyone. Seven Families' Tea is when each family brings their own freshly baked tea leaves, mixes them together, and brews or steeps them into a large pot of tea for everyone to enjoy together.
Fujian Guangbing
3. Three Fresh Delicacies
It is a long-standing custom in Wuxi to "taste the three fresh delicacies" on Start of Summer. The three fresh delicacies are divided into earth, tree, and water varieties. Earth fresh delicacies are broad beans, amaranth, and cucumbers; tree fresh delicacies are cherries, loquats, and apricots; water fresh delicacies are sea snails, pufferfish, and shad.
4. Wild Summer Rice
In Hangzhou, there is a custom of eating "Wild Summer Rice" on Start of Summer. On this day, children go in groups to neighboring houses to beg for rice and meat. Then they go to the wild fields to dig for wild vegetables and bamboo shoots. They set up a stove with stones, cook the food themselves, and eat it, which is called eating "Wild Summer Rice" or "Start of Summer Rice". This custom is a way of comparing oneself to a beggar, believing it can avoid disasters. After eating the Start of Summer Rice, adults bring baskets and large scales to weigh the children to see how much they have gained in weight since last year.
5. Five-Color Rice
In some places like Guangxi, "Five-Color Rice" is made by mixing five types of beans—red beans, soybeans, black beans, green beans, and mung beans—with white japonica rice and cooking it. It is also called Start of Summer Rice.
Three Phenomena of Start of Summer
【First Phenomenon: Crying of Mole Crickets】Mole crickets, also known as mole crickets, thrive in warm and humid environments. As the mole crickets start to chirp, the feeling of summer deepens.
【Second Phenomenon: Earthworms Emerge】Earthworms are creatures of yin, living in moist, dark soil. When yang energy is at its peak, even the earthworms can't resist and come out to join the fun.
【Third Phenomenon: King Gourd Grows】King gourd is a medicinal climbing plant native to North China. It grows rapidly during the Start of Summer season and bears red fruits in June and July.
A Summary of Traditional Start of Summer Customs
1. Egg Fighting
At noon, every household boils whole eggs (eggs boiled in their shells without breaking them), soaks them in cold water for a few minutes, and then puts them in silk mesh bags to hang around the children's necks. The children gather in groups of three or five to play egg-fighting games. An egg has two ends, the pointy end is the head and the round end is the tail. When fighting, head fights head and tail strikes tail. They fight one by one, and the one whose egg breaks loses. The saying goes: "On Start of Summer, hang an egg on your chest, and the child will not suffer from summer heat."
2. Weighing People
In some places, there is also the custom of weighing people after lunch. A large wooden scale is hung, with a stool suspended from the hook. People take turns sitting on the stool to be weighed. It is said that children who are weighed on this day will have good fortune and will not suffer from summer heat.
3. Sending Off Spring
In the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, people feel a sense of sadness as the beautiful spring passes, so they prepare food and drink for a celebration, as if seeing someone off on a long journey. This custom is called "Sending Off Spring".
Fujian Guangbing