9 things you may not know about Start of Spring

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Start of Spring (Chinese: 立春), the first solar term of the year, begins this year on Feb 4 and ends on Feb 18.

Start of Spring lifts the curtain of spring. After that everything turns green and full of vigor¹; people clearly see that the daytime is becoming longer and the weather is becoming warmer.

Here are nine things you should know about Start of Spring.

Start of Spring and Spring Festival

As a solar term, Start of Spring had already entered people's lives in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). At that time, there were eight solar terms. According to some experts, the 24 solar terms were used for the first time in books during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24), when the Start of Spring was set as the Spring Festival. In 1913, the first day of the first month of the lunar year was mandated² as the Spring Festival.

Flying a kite

Spring is the best season for kite-flying. A traditional folk activity, it has a history of more than 2,000 years. It can help build one’s health and prevent diseases. It also has the effect of promoting blood circulation and speeding up metabolism³. A breath of fresh air outside can discharge the foul⁴ smell accumulated in winter.

Erecting⁵ the egg

In China, it is said that the egg can be set upright on the first day of the Start of Spring, Spring Equinox day and Autumn Equinox day. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand on the first day of Start of Spring, he will have good luck in the future.

According to astronomers⁶ and physicists⁷, setting the egg upright has nothing to do with time, but with mechanics. The most important thing is to shift the egg’s center of gravity to the lowest part of the egg. In this way, the trick is holding the egg until the yolk⁸ sinks as much as possible. For this, people should choose an egg about 4 or 5 days old, whose yolk is inclined to sink down.

Wearing fabric⁹ swallows

Wearing fabric swallows is a custom in some regions in Shaanxi. Every Start of Spring, people like to wear a swallow made of colorful silk on their chests. The custom originated during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The swallow is a harbinger of spring and a symbol of prosperity and happiness.

Biting the spring

In many parts of China, people observe the custom of “biting the spring” on the first day of Start of Spring. They eat spring pancakes, spring rolls, or a few mouthfuls of carrots.

Making a Spring Ox

This custom in Shaanxi is practiced right before the Start of Spring. The local government hires some skilled artisans and gathers them to build the frame of an ox out of bamboo strips and the legs with wood. Then they paste some paper and paint onto it—and, voila! The image of an ox is complete. It is said that if more red and yellow paper is used, then there will be a good harvest that year; if black paper is pasted, then the year will be poor. When the paper ox is ready, there is a ritual to paint the eyes. After that, people will set up an altar for it and worship it.

Posting spring calligraphy¹⁰ and paintings

The custom of posting calligraphy and paintings on one’s door in the spring first appeared during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). People would do so to welcome spring and pray for good luck on the first day of Start of Spring.

Appreciating plum blossoms

Plums blossom from the 12th lunar month to the second month of the next year. The plum blossom, as it fights against the cold, is the most highly regarded. In China, the plum blossom, orchid¹¹, bamboo and chrysanthemum¹² are praised as the four gentlemen of Chinese flowers.

Welcoming spring

People in China began holding a special ceremony on the first day of Start of Spring about 3,000 years ago. They made sacrifices to Gou Mang, the god of Spring, who is in charge of agriculture. By the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), greeting spring had become an important folk activity. In Beijing, government officials welcomed spring in the wild field near Dongzhimen (the east gate of Beijing).