Introduction

“Stopping the Heat” happens on August 23 each year when the sun reaches thecelestial longitude of 150 degrees. At this point, the hot summer passes and heatstops. Although many of the places in China still have a day average temperature ofmore than 22 degree Celsius, the cold air comes from the north make the weather cooldown slowly. It’s usually hot in the day and cold in the morning and in the evening. In this season, the eagle starts to hunt birds, many plants and flowers start to wither, andcrops like millet, paddy rice and fine grain all get mature.

Traditional Customs

Here are some popular customs during “Stopping the Heat”.

– Welcoming the autumn: around “Stopping the Heat”, there are often celebratingactivities in the folk to welcome the autumn. Nowadays, people often take a trip in themountains to enjoy the beautiful autumn views.

– Lighting up the lantern: People light a lantern on a lotus shaped foundation and put itin the river or the sea. It’s to help the ghost of those who died in water found their wayto heaven.

– Fishing Festival: As to the fishermen, this period is a good time for fishing. Thetemperature of the sea is still warm and there are a lot of fish, prawns and shellfish inthe open sea area.

Healthy Living Tips

As Chinese often say, “It’s sleepy in the spring and tired in the autumn”. This is theperiod that people often feel tired and difficult to get up in the morning. In order to haveenough sleep, it’s better to go to bed before 10:00am and increase one hour of sleepthan in summer. When autumn comes, it’s better to eat light dishes rather thansomething like BBQ, or spicy meat. Foods with more vitamins are very good for health,for example, tomatoes, eggplant, potato and pear.