苏说文化二十四节气之夏至（英文版）

夏至是二十四节气的第十个，也最早确定下来的节气，标志着最炎热的天气即将到来。

Summer Solstice, or Xiazhi in Chinese, is the tenth solar term in the 24 solar terms. It is also the first one to be identified as a solar term. It marks that hot weather is around the corner.

夏至一般在每年公历6月21或22日。这一天，太阳直射北回归线，北半球白天最长，夜晚最短。北京地区，白天时长达15个小时，黑龙江漠河则超过17个小时。夏至过后，太阳直射点开始向南移动，北半球白天逐渐变短。

Xiazhi generally occurs on June 21 or 22 in the Gregorian calendar, when the sun’s rays almost become perpendicular to the Tropic of Cancer. In the northern Hemisphere, Xiazhi marks the longest day and the shortest night of a year. The length of daytime reaches around 15 hours in Beijing and over 17 hours in Mohe County, Helongjiang Province. After Xiazhi, the sun’s perpendicular rays move toward the south, thus decreasing the daytime length in the Northern Hemisphere with each passing day.

中国大部分地区气温升高，日照强烈，午后或傍晚常易出现雷阵雨。江淮一带空气潮湿，阴雨连绵，正值梅子成熟期，所以称之为“梅雨季”。

Many parts of China will see rising temperatures and strong sunshine. Thunder showers are frequent, especially in the afternoon or around dusk. The Jianghuai Region is particularly marked by moist atmosphere and rainy days. Xiazhi is the time when plums get ripe, so rainy days after Xiazhi are called “Plum Rain Season”.

中国古代有“夏至日祭地”的习俗。地坛坐落于北京地安门外，与天坛遥相对应。夏至这一天，明清帝王都会率领众臣到此进行祭地活动，祈求风调雨顺、国泰民安。另外，我国多地民间有夏至祭祖的习俗，但与清明祭祖不同。夏至时节，农作物已经收获，农忙结束，人们制作各种食物，敬献给祖先，表达感激之情，祈求来年的好收成。

Ancient Chinese had the custom of worshipping earth on the day of Xiazhi. Located outside of the Di’anmen Gate, the Temple of Earth faces the Temple of Heaven from afar. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, emperors and royal officials worshiped earth here on the day of Xiazhi, praying for good weather for the crops, prosperity for the empires and peace for the people.

In many parts of China, commemorating ancestors on the day of Xiazhi is another tradition. Different from the Tomb Sweeping Day, Xiazhi usually marks the end of the peak season for agricultural activities. People make all kinds of foods out of the freshly-harvested crops and sacrifice them to their ancestors, showing their gratitude and hoping that their ancestors would taste those foods and assure them of another bumper harvest.

俗话说:“冬至饺子夏至面”。在北方，一碗 “夏至面”必不可少，家家户户都会做凉面。在南方的一些地区则有在夏至日吃馄饨的习俗，取混沌和合之意。

As a proverb goes, the winter solstice is a time to eat dumplings and the summer solstice noodles. In North China, Xiazhi would be incomplete without a bowl of noodles. Every household will prepare cold noodles. In some parts of South China, people have the custom of eating wonton on the day of Xiazhi, with an allusion to “harmony and unity out of chaos”.

夏至一到,真正的盛夏也就宣告来临。夏日虽然潮湿炎热,却浇不灭生活的雅趣。古时诗人多有诗句来描写夏至节气,出名的有唐代刘禹锡的诗句“东边日出西边雨,道是无晴却有晴”。万物在夏日生长达到极值,孕育能量,为秋日结果做好准备。

Xiazhi heralds that the summer season will be in its prime soon. Moist and hot though, summer days can never force the people to give up their enthusiasm for life. Ancient Chinese poets created many verses to depict Xiazhi. As one famous piece by Liu Yuxi of the Tang Dyansty reads, “The west is veiled in rain, while the east enjoys sunshine. My gallant is as deep in love as day is fine”. All plants are in their prime around the peak of the summer season. They are accumulating energies for ultimate harvests in the fall.