Grain Rain(谷雨ɡú yǔ)

Introduction
“Grain Rain” is the sixth solar term in the 24 solar terms. It is the last solar term inspring when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 30 degrees around April 20 toApril 21 every year. The term “Grain Rain” is originated from a folk story. When CangJie, an official from the Yellow Emperor period, created writing characters, grain camedown from sky like rainfall. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor named this day as the “GrainRain”. When this day comes, the amount of rainfall increases much than the day of“The Rain”, which is very important for the growth of the crops. After this day, theduckweed starts to grow after rainfall, the cuckoo starts to sing and hoopoe starts toappear on mulberry tree. The temperature in most of the basin areas increases quickly.Apart from the north-west part, most of the basin areas in China reach 20 to 22 degreeCelsius.

Traditional Customs
Below are some traditional customs during “Grain Rain”.
- Picking and cooking tea leaves: “Grain Rain Tea” is the name for the tea madearound the time of “Grain Rain”. It has a strong and fragrant taste and can last for along time in water. Nowadays, “Grain Rain Tea” is considered as one of the best kindsof tea and many activities to promote Chinese tea culture and healthy way of drinkingare held on this day.

- Blessing to the sea: “Grain Rain” is a perfect time for fishing since when temperatureincreases, the sea also gets warmer and many fishes swim in the sublittoral area.Fishermen often hold sacrifice ceremony for the sea to bless for safety and success onthe sea.

- Killing insects: As the weather gets warmer, insects become more active. Farmersoften use different methods to kill insects and pray at the same time.

- Taking a bath: In some of the north-west areas, people call the river showered by therains during “Grain Rain” period as “Peach Blossom water”. Taking a bath in this watercan help people be far away from the back luck.

- Eating cedrela sinensis

Healthy Living Tips
The most significant weather feature around “Grain Rain” is the big differencesbetween morning temperatures and night temperatures. It’s important not to catch acold. People should also pay attention to symptoms like hay fever, allergic rhinitis andallergic asthma.

More information you can read：Grain Rain