【節氣詞彙】
Autumn Begins 立秋
“Autumn Begins” is the 13th solar term in the 24 solar terms. It’s on August 8 or 9 every year meaning the beginning of the fall."立秋“是24節氣中的第13個節氣。它發生在每年的8月8日或8月9日，意味着秋天的開始。
【節氣百科】
When it comes to this season, the leaves of the firmiana tree start to fall, thus there is a saying of “One leave falls, autumn arrives.” When the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 135 degrees, the summer is passing away and the weather turns cold gradually. People can feel the wind is getting cool and see fogs in the morning sometimes. It’s also a season of harvest.每到這個季節，梧桐樹開始落葉，由此得來一種說法”一葉知秋。”當太陽直射點到達天文經度135°時，夏天就過去了，天氣也逐漸轉冷。人們可以感覺到風漸冷，時而早上會見到霧。這同時也是個豐收的季節。
【傳統習俗】
Traditions around this time include “touch the autumn”, “get the autumn fat” and so on. “Touch the autumn” happens on the day of August 15,when all the married women who still haven’t got children go to the filed in the midnight, find and touch the melon seeds, with the accompany of her sister-in-law or other females. It’s also popular to “get the autumn fat”. Since people have little appetite during the hot summer and often lose some weight, the beginning of autumn will simulate appetite again.這段時間的傳統習俗包括“摸秋”、“貼秋膘”等。“摸秋”是在8月15日，在當天所有結了婚但還沒孩子的女人在午夜來到天地中，在弟媳或其他女性的'陪伴下摸瓜苗。“貼秋膘”也同樣十分流行。因爲在炎熱的夏季人們食慾不佳，通常都會減重，秋天到來又能刺激食慾。
【健康小貼士】
“Autumn Begins” is the season of transformation. The Yang Qi gets less and Yin Qi grows. It’s the most important time to protect one’s lung. People should not eat too much spring onions and ginger. Food such as sesame, sticky rice, honey, loquat and dairy food will be very good to the stomach.“立秋”是個轉換的季節。陽氣減少，陰氣加重。這是養肺的最關鍵時期。人們不應多吃小蔥和姜。諸如芝麻、糯米、蜂蜜、枇杷和奶製品這類食物是非常養胃的。
