6月5日，是“芒種”的節(jié)氣，英文叫做“Grain in Ear”。

讓我們來(lái)看看Wikipedia上的介紹:

Mángzhòng is the ninth solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 75° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 90°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 75°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around June 5 (June 6 East Asia time) and ends around June 21.

芒種是第九節(jié)氣。它開(kāi)始于太陽(yáng)到達(dá)75°的天文經(jīng)度，當(dāng)它到達(dá)經(jīng)度為90°時(shí)結(jié)束。它更經(jīng)常指的是一天，當(dāng)太陽(yáng)是完全在天文經(jīng)度為75°。在公歷中，它通常始于6月5日（6月6日東亞時(shí)間），并于6月21日結(jié)束。

Introduction of Grain in Ear (芒種)

“Grain in ear” means the grains are mature. It happens around June 5 every year when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 75 degrees. During this period, crops like barley and wheat all get mature and are waiting to be harvested. In Chinese, “Grain in Ear” is called Mang Zhong. Mangmeans grains at the same time busy. It forecasts the farmer is getting back to the busy field work. It is the busiest time to seed millet and the deadline for sowing activities. During this period, areas around middle stream and downstream of the Yangtze River enter the rainy season. Sensing the wetness, the mantis comes out, the shrike starts to sing and the mockingbird stops tweet.

在穗的介紹（芒種）

“穗?！笔侵缸蚜３墒?。它發(fā)生在每年6月5日左右，當(dāng)太陽(yáng)到達(dá)經(jīng)度為75度。在此期間，大麥和小麥等作物都成熟了，正在等待收割。在中國(guó)，“Grain in Ear”叫芒種。芒意味著谷物同時(shí)忙碌。它預(yù)測(cè)農(nóng)民回到繁忙的田野工作。這是millet播種的最忙時(shí)間和播種活動(dòng)的截止日期。在此期間，揚(yáng)子江中游和下游地區(qū)進(jìn)入雨季。感濕，螳螂出來(lái)，伯勞鳥(niǎo)開(kāi)始歌唱，知更鳥(niǎo)停止鳴叫。

The arrival of Grain in Ear signifies the ripening of awny crops such as wheat and it is also a busy period for farmers. That can be seen from many farm sayings. One of the sayings is, “Getting busy with farm work in Grain in Ear,” prevailing in many provinces. Grain in Ear is especially critical for planting rice. There is a saying in Guizhou that goes, “If you don’t plant rice in Grain in Ear, planting will be in vain.”

在穗的到來(lái)意味著有芒作物如小麥成熟也是農(nóng)民忙碌的時(shí)期。從許多農(nóng)場(chǎng)諺語(yǔ)中可以看出。其中一句話是，“忙著趕農(nóng)活”，在許多省份盛行。水稻種植尤其重要。貴州有句諺語(yǔ)：“如果不種糧食，種植就白費(fèi)了。”

Traditional customs

As the flowers withered away, people in old times used to hold ceremony to sacrifice for the “God of Flowers”, showing their gratitude and their eagerness to see the flowers again next year. This custom is already long gone and people can only read the scene in some of the ancient novels. In China’s south Anhui province, people steam dumplings with new fresh wheat flour after seeding the paddy rice. They make the flour into different shapes such as cereals, animals, vegetables and fruits, color them and pray for villagers’ safety.

傳統(tǒng)習(xí)俗

隨著花兒的凋謝，舊時(shí)人們習(xí)慣舉行祭祀儀式，為“花之神”祭祀，表達(dá)他們對(duì)來(lái)年再次見(jiàn)到花朵的感激和渴望。這種習(xí)俗早已不復(fù)存在，人們只能在一些古代小說(shuō)中讀到這一場(chǎng)景。在中國(guó)南部安徽省，人們用新鮮的小麥面粉蒸餃子后播種水稻。他們把面粉做成各種形狀，如谷物、動(dòng)物、蔬菜和水果，并為村民們的安全而祈禱。

Healthy living tips

The best food to eat during “Grain in Ear” period, as suggested by Chinese doctors, is mulberry. Around two thousand years ago, mulberry had already been considered as royal food and among the folk, it was called the “holy fruit”. It has abundant glucose, cane sugar, Vitamin A, B and C and many mineral substances and is very good for humans' heart, liver and kidney.

健康生活小貼士

中國(guó)醫(yī)生建議，在“穗穗”期間吃最好的食物是桑樹(shù)。大約二千年前，桑已被認(rèn)為是皇家食物，在民間，它被稱(chēng)為“神圣的水果”。含有豐富的葡萄糖、蔗糖、維生素A、B、C和多種礦物質(zhì)，對(duì)人的心臟、肝臟和腎臟都非常有益。