The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. In the ancient days, they were important instructions for the farming production as well as people's daily lives. Here are four solar terms and some details about them.

	Spring Equinox It starts around March 21st. During this time, swallows fly back to the north. It is also a good time for people to fly kites and eat spring vegetables.
	Summer Solstice It begins around June 21st. To celebrate Summer Solstice, people often give colored fans to each other because fans can help them cool down.
	Autumn Equinox It starts around September 23rd. From Autumn Equinox, most of the areas in China will enter the cool autumn. It is a season for people to eat crabs and enjoy chrysanthemums(菊花)
	Winter Solstice It begins around December 22nd. It marks the arrival of the coldest season in the year. People usually make and eat dumplings with their family members.

Many cultures have different ideas about why people catch colds. For example in the United States, some people think that you can catch a cold if your feet get cold. So, mothers tell small children to wear warm boots in the winter. In other places, including parts of the Middle East, some people believe that strong winds cause colds. So, on trains and buses, people usually don’t like to sit next to open windows. In parts of Europe, some people think that wearing wet clothes will give you a cold. They say that after you go swimming, you should quickly put on dry clothes. Today, scientists know that colds are caused by a virus (病毒). But the old ideas are still very strong, and many people still follow them to avoid (避免) getting ill.

Whether we’re young or old, rich or poor, we have one thing in common: The moon has always looked down at each of us when it lights up the night sky.

Just like a mirror, the moon reflects the sun’s light. It can also reflect people’s feelings.This is probably why the moon is always popular among Western and Chinese music, poems and other forms of literature. So when we look at the moon,what exactly do we see looking back at us?

Well, that depends on who’s looking.

The ancient Greek poet Sappho, for example, saw the moon as a woman who lit up space with her beauty. Later in England, however, the moon’s image was completely different. In the Middle Ages, English people often drank to get away from difficult life. In their eyes, the moon was a man who liked drinking. In London, at least three pubs were named Man in the Moon. It’s probably because the bright moon at night looks like a man’s red face after drinking. A popular song sung in pubs at that time even went, “Our man in the moon drinks wine...”

________ Chinese Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai’s Quiet Night Thoughts reads, “I look up to the mountain moon, and then I look down and think of home.” Similarly, Zhang Jiuling wrote in another poem, “Looking at the moon and thinking of one far away.” So in Chinese culture, when people look at the moon, they may miss their hometown or someone. Very interesting, right?