Start of Autumn, the 13th solar term of the year, begins this year on Aug 7 and ends on Aug 23.
The following are what you should know about Start of Autumn:
立秋是24节气中的第13个节气，今年的立秋始于8月7日，直至8月23日。
以下这些关于立秋的事儿，值得你一探究竟：
"Autumn Tiger": The period of hot days after Start of Autumn is called "Autumn Tiger".
“秋老虎”——立秋之后，天气依然比较炎热的这段日子被叫作“秋老虎”。
Fleshing out in autumn: If one has lost weight during the summer, he or she needs to flesh out at the beginning of autumn by eating different kinds of delicious food, especially meat.
贴秋膘——如果你在夏天变瘦了，那么到了秋天，你就该多吃点各种各样的美食，贴贴秋膘。
Gathering crops: There is a saying: "If it rains on the day of the Start of Autumn, a good harvest is expected."
盼秋收——有言曰：“立秋有雨样样收”，是也。
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Autumn Begins 立秋
“Autumn Begins” is the 13th solar term in the 24 solar terms. It’s on August 8 or 9 every year meaning the beginning of the fall.
立秋是24节气中的第13个节气。它发生在每年的8月8日或8月9日，意味着秋天的开始。
When it comes to this season, the leaves of the firmiana tree start to fall, thus there is a saying of “One leave falls, autumn arrives.” When the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 135 degrees, the summer is passing away and the weather turns cold gradually. People can feel the wind is getting cool and see fogs in the morning sometimes. It’s also a season of harvest.
Traditions around this time include “touch the autumn”, “get the autumn fat” and so on. “Touch the autumn” happens on the day of August 15,when all the married women who still haven’t got children go to the filed in the midnight, find and touch the melon seeds, with the accompany of her sister-in-law or other females. It’s also popular to “get the autumn fat”. Since people have little appetite during the hot summer and often lose some weight, the beginning of autumn will simulate appetite again.
“Autumn Begins” is the season of transformation. The Yang Qi gets less and Yin Qi grows. It’s the most important time to protect one’s lung. People should not eat too much spring onions and ginger. Food such as sesame, sticky rice, honey, loquat and dairy food will be very good to the stomach.“
