二十四節氣：秋分

秋分是二十四節氣的第十六個節氣，南方的氣候由這一節氣起才開始入秋。按我國古代以立春、立夏、立秋、立冬為四季開始的季節劃分法，秋分日居秋季90天之中，平分了秋季。今年的秋分始于9月23日。

秋分當日太陽直射地球赤道，晝夜長度相等。此后，陽光直射位置開始進入南半球，北半球開始晝短夜長，氣溫降低。秋分節氣已經真正進入到秋季，作為晝夜時間相等的節氣，人們在養生中也應注意保持陰陽平衡。

秋分曾是傳統的祭月節。如古有

“春祭日，秋祭月”之說，現在的

中秋節則是由祭月節而來。據考證，

最初祭月節是定在秋分這一天，不

過由于秋分當日不一定都有圓月，

而祭月無月又大煞風景，所以后來

就將祭月節由秋分調至中秋。

投壺是古代秋分節氣期間賓主宴飲時盛行的游戲。方法是:設一壺，使賓主依次向壺內投矢，勝者倒酒給敗者喝，大致與鄉射相同。所不同的是，投壺用手擲，不是以弓射。投擲的是標而不是箭，命中的是壺而不是靶。

俗語有“秋分到，蛋兒俏”的說法。在秋分時節，人們會選擇剛生下四五天、且光滑勻稱的新鮮雞蛋，然后輕輕地將雞蛋豎立在桌子上。據史料記載，秋分豎蛋的習俗出現在四千年前的中國，如今，豎蛋玩法已傳到世界上的許多地方。

俗話說，“秋分食蟹忙”。秋分時節是蟹肉最肥美、也最滋補的時候。螃蟹屬上等名貴水產，肉嫩味美。不僅如此，螃蟹還有極高的營養價值。螃蟹性寒，食用螃蟹不宜過多，最好搭配暖性食物一起進食，如姜茶或黃酒。

在嶺南地區，秋分時節有個不成節的習俗叫做“秋分吃秋菜”。秋菜是一種野覓菜。逢秋分那天，全村人都去采摘秋菜。采回的秋菜一般與魚片滾湯，名曰“秋湯”。有順口溜道：“秋湯灌臟，洗滌肝腸。闔家老少，平安健康。”

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Autumn equinox, the 16th solar term of the year, begins on Sept 23 this year and ends on

Oct 7. Autumn equinox lies at the midpoint of autumn, dividing autumn into two equal parts.

As it is said in the ancient book The Detailed Records of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), "It is on the autumn equinox day that the yin and yang are in a balance of power. Thus the day and night are of equal length, and so are the cold and hot weather."

Originally, moon sacrifices ceremony was held on autumn equinox, but since dates are not fixed on lunar calendar, sometimes the moon was not full. The ceremony is meaningless without a full moon and moon sacrifices ceremony was subsequently moved to Mid-Autumn Day (Oct 3 this year).

In ancient China, people threw arrows into pots to welcome autumn equinox. Hosts would invite guests to throw arrows into a pot at a distance with their hands. Players whose arrows failed to make the pot had to drink wine as a punishment.

On the day of autumn equinox, there are thousands of people in the world trying to make eggs stand on their ends. This Chinese custom has become a game of the world. Eggs that are 4 or 5 days old are best for this game.

Autumn is the season for hairy crabs. Crabs from Yangcheng Lake of East China's Jiangsu province are widely acknowledged as the best kind of hairy crabs. Hairy crabs are "cool" in nature, thus it is advised to consume them with something "warm" in nature, such as ginger tea.

Having qiucai (autumn vegetable) on autumn equinox is a custom in South China. Qiucai, a kind of wild amaranth, is often stewed with fish into qiutang, or autumn soup.