The beginning of spring poetry
In ancient China, poetry was an important way to express feelings and thoughts, so there were many poems about beginning of spring. One of the most famous is the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi's Diary of beginning of spring:
On the first day of spring,
Everything is wonderful.
Grass knows early spring,
Why leave the vertical?
It's been a long time since the snow closed the mountain.
Youth is a fat horse.
Farmers plow their fields very early,
The street is noisy.
This poem expresses the scene of spring full of vitality and the revival of all things in concise and clear language, and also expresses the busy scene of farmers and citizens in spring. This poem has also become one of the beginnings of classic poetry in spring.
The custom of beginning of spring
Besides poetry, there are many traditional beginning of spring customs. The following are some common customs in early spring:
Eat spring pancake
Spring cake is a traditional food, which is made on the day when spring begins. Spring cake is shaped like a round cake, which is covered with chopped green onion, tofu, shredded pork and other ingredients. The moral of eating spring cakes is to welcome the arrival of spring and pray for a bumper harvest in the new year.
Da Chun Peng
It is a folk custom to hold a spring banquet on the day of spring. People will put some flowers, grass, spices and so on in a small basket, and then put a bird or a butterfly on the basket. This is called "spring hug". People will take the spring bouquets outdoors, put them in the sun for a while, and then spread the fragrance of the spring bouquets in all directions, in order to pray for good weather and abundant crops in the new year.
Eat longan
Longan is a common fruit and one of the foods in early spring. On the day when spring begins, people will eat longan, which means welcoming the arrival of spring and praying for peace and health in the new year.