Dining customs of different regions on the Start of Summer
• Ningbo The custom on the Start of Summer is to eat "foot bone bamboo shoots", cooked with black bamboo shoots, each about three or four inches long, not cut open, and eaten by picking two similar thickness shoots and eating them in one bite, which is said to make your "foot bones strong" (healthy body). Then eat soft vegetables (jun踏 vegetable), saying that after eating, you won't get heat rash in summer, and your skin will be as smooth as the soft vegetable.• Shengzhou, Zhejiang On the day of Start of Summer, people eat eggs to support the heart, eat bamboo shoots to support the legs, and eat peas to support the eyes.
• Changsha, Hunan On the day of Start of Summer, people eat rice flour mixed with a kind of grass called "mouse grass" to make small balls, known as "Start of Summer soup". There's a folk proverb: "After eating the Start of Summer soup, even stone pavement can be stepped into a pit," and "Eating a ball (tuo) on the Start of Summer, you can cross a river with one step," meaning to have great strength and be as light as a swallow.
• Suburbs of Shanghai On the day of Start of Summer, people in the suburbs of Shanghai use wheat flour and sugar to make small strips about an inch long, called "wheat silkworms," and eating them can prevent "zhuxia" (summer fatigue).
• Tongshan County, Hubei In the local area, the Start of Summer is considered an important festival. On the day of Start of Summer, Tongshan people eat strawberries, shrimp, and bamboo shoots, which are called "eating strawberries to brighten the eyes, eating shrimp for strength, and eating bamboo shoots to strengthen the feet."
• Southern Fujian On the day of Start of Summer, people eat shrimp noodles, which means buying sea shrimp and mixing them into noodles for cooking. When the shrimp is cooked, it turns red, symbolizing good luck, and since "shrimp" and "summer" sound similar, it's a way to express wishes for summer.
• Eastern Fujian On the day of Start of Summer, people mainly eat "light cakes" (made from flour and a little salt baked). In areas like Zhouning and Fuan in Eastern Fujian, they soak the light cakes in water and make dishes, while in Jiaocheng and Fuding, they split the light cakes in half and put stir-fried bean sprouts, leeks, meat, and pickled vegetables inside to eat.
• Chunchi Town, Zhouning County Some villages in the area eat "Start of Summer porridge", which mainly includes two types: one is rice porridge, and the other is sweet potato starch porridge. A big pot is used to cook the porridge, which contains various ingredients such as meat, small bamboo shoots, wild vegetables, chicken and duck offal, tofu, etc. Neighbors invite each other to drink the porridge together.
• Eastern Zhejiang In rural areas of Eastern Zhejiang, there is a custom of eating "seven-family porridge" on the day of Start of Summer. This involves farmers from neighboring households exchanging beans and rice, adding yellow sugar, and cooking a pot of porridge called "seven-family porridge". It is said that eating this porridge brings harmony among neighbors and focuses on summer farming and planting.
• Shanghai In the customs of Shanghai on the day of Start of Summer, since eggs are in season at this time, it is customary to eat eggs on the day of Start of Summer. Parents also hang a red netted egg around their children's necks. Shanghai also has a custom: "When the season changes to Start of Summer, remember clearly, after eating the pancake, try the scale." On the day of Start of Summer, people eat pancakes made of taro and golden flowers, and at noon, regardless of age or gender, everyone must weigh themselves.
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