The Beginning of Summer, the seventh in the 24 solar terms, is the first solar term of summer. It falls on the Gregorian calendar May 5th this year, and after the Beginning of Summer, the temperature gradually goes up, sunshine increases, and so are thunderstorms. It is an important solar term marking the growth of all things into the peak season.

In ancient China, people attached great importance to the customs of the Beginning of Summer. On this special day, they usually held a ceremony to welcome the summer. Even nowadays, we still have many different customs to celebrate this solar term. In the areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, there is a custom called “Taste new things on the Beginning of Summer”, which is similar to another one in Suzhou, in which the three things are the newly ripe cherry, green plum and wheat. People first worship their ancestors with these three things, and then have their own taste of it.

Another interesting custom is weighing. After lunch on the Beginning of Summer, people set up a big scale at the gates of the village and take turns weighing themselves. It is said that this will bring blessings and good luck to people. All of those customs reflect people’s hopes for a better life, and wisdom in their lives.

(By Wang Heran/Qi Qian)