The Spring Equinox is the fourth festival in the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms.
春分，是中国传统二十四节气中的第四个节气。
The Spring Equinox has two meanings, one is "the equal division of day and night", on the day of the Spring Equinox, the sun shines directly on the equator, and the day and night are of equal length. Another meaning of the Spring Equinox is "equalization of the seasons". In ancient times, spring was considered to be the period between the Beginning of Spring and the Beginning of Summer, and the Spring Equinox is in the middle of the two seasons, which is exactly the equal division of spring.
春分的“分”有两个含义，一个是“昼夜平分”，在春分这天，太阳直射赤道，昼夜等长。春分的另一个含义是“季节平分”。古时以立春到立夏之间为春季，而春分日正处于两个节气之中，正好平分了春季。
As the old saying goes, swallows fly back to the North in the first hou; thunder cracks the sky in the second hou; lightning occurs frequently in the third hou, which vividly reveals the climate feature during the Spring Equinox.
俗话说：一候玄鸟至，二候雷乃发声，三候始电；生动地揭示了春分期间的气候特征。
As the Spring Equinox comes, farm work starts and both the farmers and the cattle start to become busy. Farmers will reward cattle with sticky rice balls to express their gratefulness. Meanwhile, people will also make a sacrifice to birds, to thank them for bringing signals for farm work and to ask them not to eat grains later in the year.
春分到来之际，农活便开始了，农民和耕牛都忙了起来。农民会奖励糯米团给耕牛，以示他们的感激之情。与此同时，人们也会给鸟儿准备供品，感谢它们带来农耕的信号，请求它们在收获季不要啃食谷物。
Standing an egg upright is a popular game across the country during the Spring Equinox. It is an old custom that dates back to 4,000 years ago. People practice this tradition to celebrate the coming of spring. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future.
春分时节，各地都兴玩竖鸡蛋的游戏。这一古老习俗可追溯到4000年前。人们借这一传统庆祝春之来临。人们相信，能立起鸡蛋的人，一定鸿运当头。
It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future. In some regions, it is a very common custom to eat spring seasonal vegetables during the vernal equinox. And the spring seasonal vegetables vary from place to place. People think that eating seasonal foods can help preserve health and bring good luck.
在一些地区，春分期间吃春季时蔬是非常普遍的习俗。而各地的春季时蔬，又不尽相同。人们食用应季的蔬菜，有助于保持健康，带来好运。
So to pray for health, they wrote their medical issues on the paper kite. When the kite was in the air, people would cut off the string to let the paper kite float away, symbolizing the flying away of diseases. Later flying kites developed into a popular game of spring. On the Spring Equinox, people write a blessing on the kite, hoping that the gods in the sky would see it.
为祈求健康，人们把所染疾病写在纸风筝上。风筝高飞时，就剪断风筝线，让它随风飘走，寓意疾病远离。后来，放风筝渐渐成为人们在春天爱玩的游戏。春分时，人们在风筝上写下祝福，祈愿天上神灵能看见。
Don't let down the beautiful spring day, go out more, enjoy the flowers and the greenery, and enjoy the best time of the year.
大好春光，莫要辜负，多出门走走，赏花踏青，享受一年中最美好的时光吧。
Author: Zhao Xiuran
Date: March 16, 2023
