用英语讲好中国文化--24节气之秋分The Autumn Equinox

发布人：人文艺术学院时间：2024年09月24日 08:31

Brief Introduction简介

The autumn equinox, as the name suggests, is the midpoint of autumn, splitting it in two. The autumn equinox occurs every year between 22 and 24 September on the Gregorian calendar, when the sun reaches 180°of the yellow meridian. On this day, the sun shines almost directly on the Earth's equator, and the day and night are equal in length around the globe, 12 hours each, hence getting the name ‘autumn equinox’. The autumn equinox is not only the equinox of autumn, but it also marks the beginning of late autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. The days shorten and the nights grow longer after that day, and the temperature also gradually drops.

秋分，顾名思义，就是秋季的中间点，将秋天一分为二。在每年的公历9月22日至24日之间，当太阳到达黄经180°时，便是秋分时节。这一天，太阳几乎直射地球赤道，全球各地昼夜等长，各12小时，因此得名“秋分”。秋分不仅是平分秋季的节气，也标志着北半球白天逐渐缩短，夜晚逐渐增长，气温逐渐下降，正式步入深秋。

Traditional Customs传统习俗

1.Moon Worship祭月

The Autumn Equinox was traditionally a "Moon Worship Festival." However, since a full moon doesn’t always occur on this day, the festival was later moved to the Mid-Autumn Festival. During moon worship, people would set up an offering table with mooncakes and fruits, pray to the moon, and seek blessings.

秋分曾是传统的“祭月节”，不过，由于秋分这一天不一定都有满月，后来就将“祭月节”由秋分调至中秋了。祭月时，人们会设香案，摆上月饼、水果等祭品，对着月亮朝拜，祈求福佑。

2.Egg Standing竖蛋

This is a fun custom where people believe that eggs stand upright more easily on the day of the Autumn Equinox. This might be related to the day’s equal day and night and the Earth’s axial tilt being relatively balanced with respect to its orbital plane. Many people enjoy trying to balance eggs on this day for fun.

这是一项有趣的习俗。在秋分这一天，人们认为鸡蛋更容易竖起来。这可能与秋分这一天昼夜平分，地球地轴与公转轨道平面处于一种相对平衡状态有关，当然也有一定的技巧性。许多人会在这一天尝试竖蛋，以此为乐。

3. Eating Autumn Vegetables吃秋菜

In the Lingnan region, there is a tradition of eating autumn vegetables, a wild amaranth. Villagers gather these vegetables from the fields and cook them with fish slices in a soup, resulting in a delicious and nutritious dish.

在岭南地区，有吃秋菜的习俗。秋菜是一种野苋菜，村民们会到田野里采摘秋菜，将其与鱼片一起“滚汤”，味道鲜美，营养丰富。

4.赏桂花｜Enjoying Osmanthus

Osmanthus flowers, usually bloom in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, that is, during the autumn equinox. During the autumn equinox, many places will hold osmanthus appreciation activities, where people will gather under osmanthus trees or stroll through osmanthus forests to appreciate osmanthus flowers and feel the fragrance of osmanthus flowers.

桂花，通常在农历八月，也就是秋分时节盛开。在秋分时节，许多地方都会举办赏桂活动，人们会聚集在桂花树下，或漫步在桂花林中欣赏桂花，感受桂花的香气。

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