今日秋分

At 8:05 a.m. on September 23, the Autumn Equinox arrives. On this day, the sun shines directly on the Earth’s equator, and day and night are nearly equal across the globe, each lasting about 12 hours. As the fourth solar term of autumn, it falls right in the middle of the 90 days from the Start of Autumn to Frost’s Descent. After the Autumn Equinox, days grow shorter and nights longer in the Northern Hemisphere, and all living things turn from prosperity to quiet rest.

The Autumn Equinox is also a harvest festival for Chinese farmers. It is a busy season for the autumn harvest, ploughing, and sowing. Traditional customs include egg-standing games, eating Qiucai, and sending autumn ox paintings to express people’s wishes for harvest, peace, and good fortune.