有人说，春分是一年中最美的时节。
此时，春暖花开，杨柳青青，草长莺飞，桃红李白迎春黄。
春分，古时又称为“日中”“日夜分”“仲春之月”。
春分作为一年的第四个节气，今年从3月21日开始，4月4日结束。
春分的英文叫做“the Spring Equinox /ˈiːkwɪnɒks/”。
Equinox是指一年中两次日夜平分的时刻，即春分或秋分（one of the two times in a year when night and day are of equal length）。
春分这一天，太阳直射地球赤道，昼夜时间相等。
On the day of the Spring Equinox, sun is directly above the equator.
在春分当天，太阳直射赤道。
自此之后，渐渐昼长夜短。
After the equinox, the sun moves northwards, resulting in gradually longer day time in the Northern Hemisphere and longer night in the Southern Hemisphere.
春分过后，太阳向北移动，北半球的白天时间逐渐变长，南半球的夜晚变长。
关于春分，还有很多习俗和讲究，一起来看看吧。
燕子北飞
Swallows fly north
The ancient Chinese people divided the fifteen days of the Spring Equinox into three "hou's," or five-day parts.
中国古人把春分的十五天分为三个“候”，每个“候”即五天。
As the old saying goes, swallows fly back to the North in the first hou; thunder cracks the sky in the secondhou; lightning occurs frequently in the thirdhou, 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。
立蛋游戏
Egg-standing games
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.
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。
It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future.
人们相信，能立起鸡蛋的人，一定鸿运当头。
据分析，春分是玩这个游戏的最佳时间，因为在这一天，66.5度倾斜的地球地轴与地球绕太阳公转的轨道平面，刚好处于一种力的相对平衡状态，有利于立蛋。
放风筝
Flying 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.
古时医疗条件不佳。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。
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.
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。
春分吃春菜
Eating spring vegetables
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.
在中国各地都有春分吃春菜的习俗。“春菜”指的是各地不同的时令蔬菜。
The ancient teachings in the Chinese classic, Huangdi Neijing, suggests that people eat seasonal foods to help preserve health and bring good luck.
中国古典名著《黄帝内经》认为，吃时令食物有助养生，带来好运。
犒劳耕牛
Reward farm cattle
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.
江南地区流行犒劳耕牛。春分一到，耕牛即开始一年的劳作，农民以糯米团喂耕牛表示犒赏。
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.
人们还有祭祀百鸟的习俗，一则感谢它们提醒农时，二是希望鸟类不要啄食五谷，祈祷丰年之意。
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。
编辑：左卓
实习生：徐天一
来源：中国日报网
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