Introduction

“Autumn Begin” is the 13th solar term in the 24 solar terms. It’s on August 8 or 9 every year meaning the beginning of the fall. When it comes to this season, the leaves of the firmiana tree start to fall, thus there is a saying of “One leave falls, autumn arrives.” When the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 135 degrees, the summer is passing away and the weather turns cold gradually. People can feel the wind is getting cool and see fogs in the morning sometimes. It’s also a season of harvest.

Traditional Customs

Traditions around this time include “Autumn Begins” festival, “touch the autumn”, “get the autumn fat” and so on. “Touch the autumn” happens on the day of August 15, where all the married women who still haven’t got children go to the filed in the midnight, find and touch the melon seeds, with the accompany of her sister-in-law or other females. It’s also popular to “get the autumn fat”. Since people have little appetite during the hot summer and often lose some weight, the beginning of autumn will simulate appetite again. On the day of “Autumn Begins”, many people cook meat dishes.

Healthy Living Tips

“Autumn Begins” is the season of transformation. The Yang Qi gets less and Yin Qi grows. It’s the most important time to protect one’s lung. People should not eat too much spring onions and ginger. Food such as sesame, sticky rice, honey, loquat and dairy food will be very good to the stomach.