Traditional culture in plain words
Autumn Equinox (秋分)
On the day of the Autumn Equinox (秋分), day and night are once again the same length. After it, the nights grow longer in the northern hemisphere.
At a glance
What the solar terms mean
The Autumn Equinox usually falls on 22 or 23 September. The Sun then shines straight over the equator, so day and night are close to equal.
After the equinox, days shorten and nights lengthen in the northern hemisphere. The weather cools further, the fields turn gold, and the autumn harvest begins.
Traditional customs in different places
This is the season of gathering in. In olden times, people made offerings to the Moon (祭月) at the Autumn Equinox; today, moon viewing and moon worship are mostly kept at the Mid-Autumn Festival. In southern China and Hong Kong, families pick wild amaranth at this time, known as 'autumn greens' (秋菜), and simmer it into 'autumn soup' (秋湯). People also give 'autumn ox' pictures (秋牛圖), prints showing the twenty-four solar terms and a farming ox, to wish one another a smooth harvest. Many enjoy the egg-standing game (豎蛋), balancing an egg upright for the season. As the weather cools, tradition says to sleep early and rise early, in step with autumn.
Solar terms belong to the traditional calendar and are shared for cultural reference. For weather, please follow the forecast from your local weather service.