【節氣詞匯】

　　Summer Solstice

　　夏至

　　“Summer Solstice” comes on June 21 to June 22 each year when the sun altitude arrive the highest in north. This day has the longest day time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the sunshine in many cities in south China may last fourteen hours per day.After this day, the spot of the direct sunlight gradually moves southward.“

　　夏至”在每年6月21日-6月22日到來，這時候太陽直射點位于北半球最高點。這天北半球白晝時間達到一年最長，在中國南部地區的日照時長能達到14小時。夏至以后，太陽直射點逐漸向南移動。

　　【節氣百科】

　　Although, this day has the longest daylight, it’s not the hottest. As traditional Chinese books described, there are three periods of the hot season. It starts around “Summer Solstice” and ends around “Autumn Begins”. The temperature rises day by day and the hottest days come around mid-July to mid-August, where temperatures of some cities in China reach 40 degree Celsius.

　　盡管夏至這天白晝時間最長，但并不是最熱的一天。根據中國古書記載，炎熱的季節分為三階段。大約從夏至開始，在立秋結束。氣溫一天天上升，并在七月中旬至八月中旬達到最高溫，中國一些城市甚至能達到40攝氏度。

　　【傳統習俗】

　　In some provinces, there is the tradition of eating cold noodles on this day. According to old customs in Beijing, when it comes to “Summer Solstice”, people can eat cold noodles to stimulate the appetite and at the same time don’t need to worry about having diarrhea.

　　在一些省份，夏至有吃涼面的習俗。根據北京地區的舊俗，每到夏至時，人們就會吃涼面刺激食欲，同事也不必擔心會腹瀉。

　　【健康小貼士】

　　During this period, to comply with the Yin and Yang in the natural world, people should sleep late, get up early and have a nap during the lunch time. Aged people should make sure they have at least seven hours sleep every day by sleeping early and get up early. Actually most of the people feel tired and sometimes even headache during this period. This is because when the temperature rises, people can only send out the heat by perspiration, which may cause dehydration and thus the insufficient blood supplying to the brain. Therefore, remember to drink a lot of water if feeling uncomfortable.

　　在這期間，為了遵循自然界陰陽理論，人們應該晚睡早起并且午休。老年人需要每天確保早睡早起，至少7小時睡眠時間。實際上很多人在這個時節會感到困乏頭疼。這是因為當氣溫上升，人們只能通過排汗祛熱，這會導致人體脫水進而大腦供血不足。所以，要記住如果感到不適請多喝水。