The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. The Spring Equinox Chinese (春分), as the fourth term of the year starts on March 21 and ends on April 5 this year.

The Spring Equinox signals the equal length of the day and night time. On the day of the Spring Equinox, sun is directly above the equator. After the equinox, the sun moves northwards, resulting in gradually longer day time in the Northern Hemisphere and longer night in the Southern Hemisphere.

Here are 6 things you may not know about the Spring Equinox.

The ancient Chinese people divided the fifteen days of the Spring Equinox into three “hou’s,” or five-dayparts. As the old saying goes, swallows fly back to the North in the first hou; thunder cracks the sky in the second hou; lightning occurs frequently in the third hou, which vividly reveals the climate feature during the Spring Equinox.

Standing an egg upright is a popular game across the country during the Spring Equinox. It is an old custom that dates back to 4, 000 years ago. People practice this tradition to celebrate the coming of spring. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future.

Spring Equinox is a good time to fly kites. In ancient times, people did not have good medical resources. So to pray for health, they wrote their medical issues on paper kite. When the kite was in the air, people would cut off the string to let the paper kite float away, symbolizing the flying away of diseases.

Later flying kites developed into a popular game of spring. On the Spring Equinox, people write a blessing on the kite, hoping that the gods in the sky would see it.

Eating spring vegetables during the Spring Equinox is a commonly practiced custom in many regions of China. ‘Spring vegetables’ refers to seasonal vegetables that differ from place to place. The ancient teachings in the Chinese classic, Huangdi Neijing, suggests that people eat seasonal foods to help preserve health and bring good luck.

During the Spring Equinox, an old tradition practiced by Beijing locals is offering sacrifices to the Sun god. This tradition is called “Zhonghe Festival”. The “Sun Cake”, a round cake made from wheat and sugar, serves as the main offering.

This practice is popular in the southern area of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. As the Spring Equinox comes, farm work starts and both the farmers and the cattle start to become busy. Farmers will reward cattle with sticky rice balls to express their gratefulness. Meanwhile, people will also make sacrifice to birds, to thank them for bringing signals for farm work and to ask them not to eat grains later in the year.

The Chong Yang Festival has a history of over 2,000 years. It comes on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, so it is called the Double Ninth Festival.

There are many kinds of activities on the Chong Yang Festival. It is a time when it’s getting cold, so Chinese people make the festival a time for sending winter clothes for the dead family members. Because autumn has a clear sky and fresh air, it is a very good time to climb a mountain. Climbing a mountain has been the tradition of the Chong Yang Festival since the Western Han Dynasty. Also, it is good for our health. On the Chong Yang Festival, people also eat Chong Yang cakes, enjoy chrysanthemum(菊花) flowers, and drink chrysanthemum wine.

Today, the Chong Yang Festival has got its new meaning —a day for showing respect to the old. On the festival day, people show their respect, care and love to old people, and they also do lots of things to help the old. Many parks, communities and organizations plan the activities for old people, such as an autumn trip, singing songs or sending presents to them. We hope the old are happy and stay healthy by taking part in these activities. Many young people accompany(陪伴) the old on outings, or make some delicious food for them.

Here are a few interesting facts about Teachers’ Day around the world.

China celebrates Teachers’ Day on September 10. The tradition began in the 1980s to improve teachers lives and status and encourage everyone to respect teachers.

In India, Teachers’ Day is celebrated on September 5, in honor of Dr. Radhakrishnan. He was India’s second president and a person who believed in good education. Traditionally on this day, the teaching is done by the senior students while the teachers get a much-deserved break from their work.

The United Nations has made October 5 World Teachers’ Day. This special day was started to let the world see what teachers have done and listen to the teachers’ worries and the things they want to change.

In the United States, National Teachers’ Day is always on the Tuesday of the first week of May, so the actual date is different every year. The history of celebrating this day goes back to 1944.

In Germany, Teachers’ Day is celebrated on June 12 every year. People will express their respect to teachers with many activities. Teachers always receive prizes, presents, beautiful cards and other things.

Teachers’ Day is celebrated in Brunei(文莱) on September 23.

January 15 is Teachers’ Day in Venezuela(委内瑞拉).

North Korea celebrates Teachers Day on September 5.