In the middle of the third lunar month, around April 19 to 21, the sun arrives at the celestial longitude of 30 degrees. The temperature rises and the precipitation increases, which is beneficial to the growth of cereal crops. As a typical phenology, cuckoos begin to sing “bugubugu”, which sounds like “sow grain seeds” in Chinese. It reminds farmers to carry out agricultural activities, such as sowing grains, planting cotton and rearing silkworms. Chinese believe that rain nourishes all grains. Hence, this solar term is named as Grain Rain.          

Grain Rain is the sixth of the 24 Solar Terms and the last one in spring. It is also the only one that associates phenology with seasonal timing and agricultural activities. The phenology-related signs of Grain Rain are as follows: During the first five-day period, duckweed begins to grow; the second, cuckoos preen themselves; the third, hoopoes alights on mulberry trees. Besides, Grain Rain is the right time to drink seasonal tea, eat Chinese toon, and appreciate peonies.

There are also some other customs in folk. In northern coastal areas, fishermen are accustomed to praying to the sea goddess for blessing, hoping for safe voyage and a bountiful harvest of fish and shrimp. A grand “sea-worshiping” ceremony held on this day, they offer wine to the sea goddess and then set sail to fish. Besides, in some regions, a temple fair is held to memorize Cang Jie for his marvelous achievement of creating Chinese characters. Moreover, people usually visit relatives and friends or take a walk in the countryside on Grain Rain.   

(By Lv Ying/Qi Qian)