用英语介绍中国传统文化: 二十四节气—Spring Equinox 春分

Hello，Spring

春分，是中国传统二十四节气（the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms）中的第四个节气。

春分的“分”有两个含义，一个是“昼夜平分”，在春分这天，太阳直射赤道，昼夜等长。

春分过后，太阳直射点向北移动，导致北半球白昼逐渐变长，南半球的夜越来越长。

春分的另一个含义是“季节平分”。古时以立春到立夏之间为春季，而春分日正处于两个节气之中，正好平分了春季。昼夜平分点的英文表达为“Equinox ”，所以春分是The Spring Equinox。

除此之外，春分节气还有哪些文化习俗呢?一起来看看吧。

春分习俗

民间活动上，一般算做踏青的正式开始。

活动有：竖鸡蛋、放风筝、簪花喝酒、野外挑野菜等。

春分立蛋

Egg-Standing

人们认为，如果有人能将鸡蛋竖立起来，他将会在未来交好运。也有些人认为，春分当日是玩这个游戏的最佳时机，因为在这天，地球的地轴与地球绕太阳公转的轨道平面处于一种相对平衡状态，这使得鸡蛋更容易被立起来。

It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future. Some believe that the Spring Equinox is the best time to practice this game because on this day theaxisof the earth is relatively balanced against theorbital planeof the earth’s rotation around the sun, which makes it easier to erect an egg.

春分吃春菜

Eating Spring Vegetables

昔日四邑(加上鹤山为五邑)的开平苍城镇的谢姓，有个不成节的习俗，叫做“春分吃春菜”。“春菜”是一种野苋菜，乡人称之为“春碧蒿”。逢春分那天，全村人都去采摘春菜。在田野中搜寻时，多见是嫩绿的，细细棵，约有巴掌那样长短。采回的春菜一般家里与鱼片“滚汤”，名曰“春汤”。有顺口溜道：“春汤灌脏，洗涤肝肠。阖家老少，平安健康。”一年自春，人们祈求的还是家宅安宁，身壮力健。

“Spring vegetables” refers to seasonal vegetables that differ from place to place. The ancient teachings in the Chinese classic, Huangdi Neijing, suggest that people eat seasonal foods to help preserve health and bring good luck.

祭奠太阳神

Memorial Sun God

春分期间，北京当地人有祭祀“太阳神”的传统。这一传统被称为“中和节”，用小麦和糖制作的“太阳糕”，则是主要贡品。

在明代和清代，每个春分日皇室都会在日坛举行祭祀“太阳神”的仪式。后来日坛公园逐渐成为公众娱乐的普通场所，不过祭祀活动在老百姓中依然存在。

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

送春牛

Reward Farm Cattle

春分一到，耕牛即开始一年的劳作，农民以糯米团喂耕牛表示犒赏。

人们还有祭祀百鸟的习俗，一则感谢它们提醒农时，二是希望鸟类不要啄食五谷，祈祷丰年之意。

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 will also make sacrifice to birds, to thank them for bringing signals for farm work and to ask them not to eat grains later in the year.