二十四节气Twenty-four Solar Terms

雪漫

“春分秋分，昼夜平分；吃了春分饭，一天长一线。”此时，柳条抽新，莺飞草长，春色烂漫，春意浓浓，正是一年春好处。伴着春雷，“一场春雨一场暖”，乍暖还寒时，也是乱穿衣的时节。

As the old Chinese saying goes， “At Chunfen（or the Spring Equinox） and Qiufen （or theAutumnal Equinox）， day and night are of equallength. After we finish our meals on the day ofChunfen， each day we have gets longer by athread.” During this season， we see willowbranches budding， grass growing and birds flying，all against a lush and vibrant backdrop. It is atime when the air is thick with the spirit of springand the thundery rains usher in more warmthbit by bit. Also during this time of unpredictableweather， we can see people dress in layers.

春分有吃春菜的习俗。春菜，通常有香椿芽、菠菜、豆芽、春笋、韭菜五种，也有人喜欢挖荠菜或其他野菜吃。春分前后，这些菜不仅新鲜、味美，而且有益于身体。

As part of the custom around the time ofChunfen， people eat spring vegetables such astoon sprouts， spinach， bean sprouts， bambooshoots， and chives. Some people also enjoydigging up wild vegetables like shepherds purse.These vegetables are not only fresh and delicious，but also beneficial for the health.

春分时节春光明媚，正是孩子们放风筝的好时节。沐浴着春光，呼吸着新鲜空气，在一个惠风和畅的空旷之所，奔跑着放飞风筝，别有一番滋味。

Chunfen is a season of brightness， making it anideal time for children to fly kites. Bathed in the springsunshine and breathing fresh air， they run and playin open fields， releasing their kites into the sky. It is abeautiful scene to behold.

一年之际在于春，清朝诗人宋琬在《春日田家》中这样描述：

A years plan starts with spring. As theQing Dynasty poet Song Wan wrote in“Spring Day in the Farmhouse”：

野田黃雀自为群，

山叟相过话旧闻。

夜半饭牛呼妇起，

明朝种树是春分。

Wild sparrows flock together in the fields，

old farmers meet to talk about the old days.

Men feed their cattle in the middle of the night，

calling their wives to rise.

Tomorrow is the spring equinox， a good time to plant trees.

Get up， get up. Lets get prepared.

本诗描写了春分时农忙的情景：在野外的农田中，一群群黄雀自在玩耍，山间的老农们相遇，一起闲谈从前的故事。半夜时分，人们就已经喂了牛，然后把妇人叫了起来：“明天是春分，要种树了，赶紧起来准备吧！”

This poem depicts the busy scene duringthe Chunfen period， with groups of sparrowsplaying in the fields and old farmers chattingabout old times. At midnight， men get upto feed their cattle， waking their wives up sothat they could prepare for tree-planting atdawn.