Grain Rain is the 6th of the 24 solar terms, the last solar term of spring, and is celebrated on April 19-21 of the Gregorian calendar every year. The arrival of the Grain Rain Festival means that the cold weather is basically over and the temperature rises faster, which is greatly conducive to the growth of cereal crops.

A, the origin of the rain:

The origin of the rain in the ancient books is explained in this way, "the month of seventy-two waiting collection," said, " March, since the rain, the soil paste pulse, today The rain is also in the water, and the valley is sown at this time, from the bottom up, so it gets its name. "

The meaning of this sentence is that in the middle of March, after the rains, the land became fertile and suitable for the sowing of crops such as grains, and after the sowing, there was a new season of rains, which was suitable for the growth of grains. Therefore, the sowing of cereals in the future in this season, the two things from the bottom up to have "grain rain" the name of the festival.

Anciently, Guyu linked grain and rain, implying the meaning of "rain produces all kinds of grains" and reflecting the agro-climatic significance of "Guyu".

Second, the valley rain of the "three waiting"

Each festival has three representative of the weather, the valley rain of the three waiting is:

a wait Ping Begins to be born:

The Ping here refers to the Floating duckweed, floating duckweed this kind of plant is in the water growth, and can not withstand frost, so to the rainy season temperature rise plus rainfall, duckweed will get a suitable environment for growth began to grow.

Second Hour:

The song dove here refers to the cuckoo bird. The sounding dove brushing its feathers means that the cuckoo bird starts to comb its feathers. Because the cuckoo can sense the change of weather, once the temperature is suitable it will come to live in the north and then start to groom its feathers to start courting. The temperature during the rainy season is just right for the cuckoo, so there is a saying that the dove brushes its feathers during the rainy season.

Third Waiting for Dai Sheng to descend on Mulberry:

Here, "Dai Ren" means "Dai Sheng", and "Mulberry" means mulberry tree. Because the rainy season is the time for the Dai Sheng bird to breed, and its nest is built on the mulberry tree. So there is the phenomenon that the bird descends on the mulberry tree in the rainy season.

3. Customs of Valley Rain:

1. Appreciate Peony

The festival of peony flowers blooming collectively happens to be around the time of the Valley Rain, so the peony flowers are also known as the Valley Rain Flowers. Therefore, it became a custom for ancient people to enjoy peonies during the rainy season, as the old saying goes, "Peonies are seen during the three dynasties of rainy season". In modern times, peony is also a common flower, so the custom of enjoying peonies during the rainy season has been continued until now.

2. Tea Picking

Legend has it that drinking tea on the day of Grain Rain will clear fire, ward off evil spirits, and improve eyesight. So no matter what the weather is, people will go to the tea mountain to pick some new tea back to drink. Guyu tea is different from any other kind of tea, it is a kind of tea that symbolizes the folklore psychology of yearning for health and peace.

4, eat tsubaki

Guyu around the time is the toon tree sprouting shoots of the season, every time this time the market can see the figure of tsubaki buds, our family will also be in that time to buy a lot of tsubaki buds, you can fry and eat, you can also pickle and eat.

And in ancient times, the toon tree was often regarded as a symbol of longevity, so collecting and eating toons during the rainy season became a custom and a blessing to oneself and one's family.

5, sea sacrifice

Because of China's unique geographic location and climate, deep-sea fish and shrimp follow the law of seasonal migration, every Guyu this day will flock to the waters of the offshore area of the Jiaodong Peninsula in Shandong Province, so the fishermen here are rumored to have a "Guyu hundreds of fish on the shore! Therefore, there is a saying among the fishermen here that "a hundred fish come to the shore in the rainy season". So there is the custom of sacrificing to the sea on the Grain Rain Festival.