Minor Heat

“小暑”是中国传统二十四节气（the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms）中的第十一个节气。“小暑”时节天气已步入炎热的阶段，但并未达到极热状态，因而其英文表达为Minor Heat。

When the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 105 degrees, it’s the time for “Slight Heat”, usually happening on July 7 or July 8. Slight heat means it’s hot but not the hottest.

小暑发生在太阳到达天文经度105°，通常在7月7日或7月8日。小暑表示天气很热但并不是最热的时候。

【气候特征】

The continuous rainfall season for cities along “Yangtze River” will soon stop and enter summer days. On the other hand, the north and north-east of China will enter the rain season.Three periods of the hot season come one by one after “Summer Solstice”. In the Chinese, it’s call the three “Fu”, meaning that the weather is so hot and people better lie down than to move. Around the “Slight Heat” period, it’s the first “Fu” period.

长江沿岸地区连绵的雨季即将结束，进入夏季。而中国北部及东北地区将进入雨季。夏至以后，将一一迎来三阶段的酷暑阶段。在中国，我们叫它三“伏”，意思是这个天气人们不宜活动，最好躺着不动。小暑前后，就是第一“伏”。

【传统习俗】

Nowadays, people eat Jiao zi on the first “Fu”, noodles on the second and eggs with baked pancake on the third.In Xuzhou, the tradition of eating lamb can be traced back to thousands of years ago. At that time, there already had been the saying that “Having a bowl of lamp soup, no need to see the doctors.”

如今，人们在第一“伏”吃饺子，第二“伏”吃面条，第三“伏”吃鸡蛋煎饼。在徐州，吃羊肉的习俗可追溯到几千年前。同时，古话说：“喝一碗羊肉汤，不用看医生。"

小暑后南方应注意抗旱（drought resisting），北方须注意防涝（waterlogging preventing）。全国的农作物都进入了茁壮成长阶段，需加强田间管理。小暑的标志：出梅、入伏。