The Spring Equinox

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The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms.

传统中国农历将一年分为24个节气。

The Spring Equinox（Mar 20 -Apr 3） signals the equal length of the day and night time. On the day of the Spring Equinox, sun is directly above the equator. After the equinox, the sun moves northwards, resulting in gradually longer day time in the Northern Hemisphere and longer nights in the Southern Hemisphere.

春分标志着昼夜时间等长。在这一天，太阳直射赤道。春分后，太阳北移，使得北半球逐渐白昼更长，南半球夜晚更长。

Here are 5 things you need to know about the Spring Equinox.

关于春分你需要知道的五件事

Swallows fly north

燕子北飞

The ancient Chinese people divided the fifteen days of the Spring Equinox into three "hou's," or five-day parts. As the old saying goes, swallows fly back to the North in the first hou; thunder cracks the sky in the second hou; and lightning occurs frequently in the third hou, which vividly reveals the climate feature during the Spring Equinox.

古人把春分这十五天分为“三候”，五天为一“候”。古语有云，一候玄鸟至；二候雷乃发声；三候始电，这生动地披露了春分时节的气候特征。

Egg-standing games

竖蛋

Standing an egg upright is a popular game across the country during the Spring Equinox. It is an old custom that dates back to 4,000 years ago. People practice this tradition to celebrate the coming of spring. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future.

竖蛋，是春分时节在中国流行的一种游戏。这个古老习俗可以追溯至4000年前，人们借此来庆祝春天的到来。人们相信，如果有人能够将蛋竖起，他就会在未来拥有好运。

Some people believe that the Spring Equinox is the best time to practice this game because on this day the axis of the earth is relatively balanced against the orbital plane of the earth's rotation around the sun, which makes it easier to make an egg stand.

有些人认为，春分是玩这个游戏的最佳时间，因为在这一天，地轴相对于地球绕太阳旋转的轨道平面是平衡的，这样就更容易让鸡蛋立起来。

Eating spring vegetables

吃春菜

Eating spring vegetables during the Spring Equinox is a commonly practiced custom in many regions of China. 'Spring vegetables' refers to seasonal vegetables that differ from place to place. The ancient teachings in the Chinese classic, Huangdi Neijing, suggests that people eat seasonal foods to help preserve health and bring good luck.

在中国很多地方，有春分吃春菜的风俗。“春菜”并不是一种蔬菜，而是指不同地区的时令蔬菜。中国经典《黄帝内经》中有古训里建议人们吃季节性食物，以保持健康并能带来好运。

Sacrifice to the Sun god

祭祀大明神

During the Spring Equinox, an old traditional practiced by Beijing locals is offering sacrifices to the Sun god. This tradition is called "Zhonghe Festival". The "Sun Cake", a round cake made from wheat and sugar, serves as the main offering.

春分节气，北京当地人的一项古老传统是祭祀大明神。这一传统被称为“中和节”。“太阳饼”——由小麦和糖制成的圆形饼，是主要的祭品。

In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1636—1912), the imperial family held this ritual in Ritan Park every Spring Equinox. Ritan Park gradually became a common place for public recreation. However, the practice still exists among the public.

在明朝(1368-1644)和清朝(1636-1912)，皇室每年春分都在日坛公园举行这种仪式。现在，虽然日坛公园逐渐成为公共休闲场所，但这种古老的习俗依然存在。

Reward farm cattle

奖励耕牛

This practice is popular in the southern area of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. As the Spring Equinox comes, farm work starts and both the farmers and the cattle start to become busy. Farmers will reward cattle with sticky rice balls to express their gratefulness. Meanwhile, people also will make sacrifice to the birds, to thank them for bringing signals for farm work and to ask them not to eat grain later in the year.

这一做法在长江下游的南方地区十分流行。随着春分的到来，耕种开始，农民和牛开始变得忙碌。为了表达感激，农民会用汤圆回报牛。与此同时，人们还会祭拜鸟类，以感谢它们为农耕带来“信号”，同时祈求它们今年晚些时候不要食用谷粒。