8 things you may not know about Autumn Equinox

: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail chinadaily.com.cn, September 22, 2016

Villagers pack the newly picked pears at Raoyang country, Hebei province, August 10, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Season for eating various plants

In the Autumn Equinox time, olives, pears, papaya, chestnut, bean, and other plants enter their phase of maturation. It is time to pick and eat them.

Season for enjoying osmanthus

The Autumn Equinox is the time for smelling the fragrance of osmanthug. At this time, it is hot in the day and cool in the night in South China, so people have to wear a single layer when it is hot, and lined clothing when it is cool. This period is named "Guihuazheng" in Chinese, which means osmanthus mugginess.

Season for enjoying chrysanthemums

It is also a good season to enjoy chrysanthemums in full blossom around Autumn Equinox.

Standing eggs on end

On Autumn Equinox day, there are thousands of people in the world trying to make eggs stand on end. This Chinese custom has become the world's game.

According to experts, on the Spring Equinox and Autumn Equinox, the day and night are of equal time both in the southern and northern hemispheres. The earth's axis, on its 66.5 degree tilt, is in a relative balance of power with the earth's orbit around the sun. Thus it is a very conducive time for standing eggs on end.

But some also say that standing the egg has nothing to do with the time. The most important thing is to shift the egg‘s center of gravity to the lowest part of the egg. In this way, the trick is holding the egg until the yolk sinks as much as possible. For this, you're better off choosing an egg that's about 4 or 5 days old, whose yolk is inclined to sink down.

Sacrificing to the moon

Originally, the festival of sacrificing to the moon was set on the Autumnal Equinox day. According to historical records, as early as the Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century-256BC), the ancient kings by custom sacrificed to the sun on the Spring Equinox, and to the moon on the Autumn Equinox.

But since it is not a fixed day in lunar August, there might be no full moon on the Autumnal Equinox. During the festival, if there was no moon to make sacrifices to, it would spoil the fun. Thus, the day was changed to the Mid-Autumn Day.

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