The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. The Spring Equinox , as the fourth term of the year starts on March 20 and ends on April 3 this year.

中国传统二十四节气的第四个节气是春分，今年的春分从3月20日开始，4月3日结束。

The Spring Equinox signals the equal length of the day and night time. On the day of the Spring Equinox, sun is directly above the equator. After the equinox, the sun moves northwards, resulting in gradually longer day time in the Northern Hemisphere and longer night in the Southern Hemisphere.

春分象征着昼夜时间等长。在春分的那天，太阳直射在赤道的正上方。春分过后，太阳向北移动，导致北半球的白昼时间逐渐延长，南半球的夜晚时间逐渐变长。

Here are things you may not know about the Spring Equinox.

一起来了解一下关于春分的几个小常识。

Swallows fly north燕子北飞

The ancient Chinese people divided the fifteen days of the Spring Equinox into three "hou's," or five-day parts. 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.

古人把春分十五天分为三候，或五天的时间段。古人有“一候燕回北，二候雷鸣，三候电闪”之说，十分形象地反映了春分的气候特点。

Egg-standing games立蛋游戏

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.

Some believe that the Spring Equinox is the best time to practice this game because on this day the axis of the earth is relatively balanced against the orbital plane of the earth's rotation around the sun, which makes it easier to erect an egg.

立蛋游戏是春分时节全国各地流行的游戏。这是一个古老的习俗，可以追溯到 4000 年前。人们用这个传统来庆祝春天的到来。人们相信，如果有人能让鸡蛋直立起来，他将来就会有好运。

有些人认为春分是玩这个游戏的最佳时间，因为这一天地球的轴线与地球绕太阳公转的轨道平面相对平衡，这使得鸡蛋更容易直立。

Flying kites放风筝

Spring Equinox is a good time to fly kites. In ancient times, people did not have good medical resources. So to pray for health, they wrote their medical issues on 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.

春分是放风筝的好时节。古时候，人们没有很好的医疗资源。为了祈求健康，人们将自己的疾病写在纸鸢上。当风筝飞上天空时，人们会剪断线，让纸鸢飘走，象征着疾病飞走。

后来，放风筝发展成为一种流行的春季游戏。在春分这天，人们在风筝上写下祝福，希望天上的神灵能看到。

Eating spring vegetables吃春菜

Eating spring vegetables during the Spring Equinox is a commonly practiced custom in many regions of China. 'Spring vegetables' refers to seasonal vegetables that differ from place to place. The ancient teachings in the Chinese classic,Huangdi Neijing, suggests that people eat seasonal foods to help preserve health and bring good luck.

春分时节吃春菜是中国许多地区的普遍习俗。“春菜”指的是时令蔬菜，各地的蔬菜都不一样。中国古典著作《黄帝内经》中的古代教义建议人们吃应季食物以保持健康并带来好运。

Rewarding farm cattle犒劳耕牛

This practice is popular in the southern area of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. 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 sacrifice to birds, to thank them for bringing signals for farm work and to ask them not to eat grains later in the year.

长江下游南部地区盛行此习俗。春分时节，农活开始，农夫和耕牛都忙碌起来。农夫会用糯米团犒劳耕牛以表达感激之情。同时，人们也会祭祀飞鸟，感谢它们为农活带来信号，并祈求它们在年末不要吃谷物。