LesserHeat(xiaoshu)fallsonJuly7intheGregoriancalendarthisyear.shumeansheat,whilexiaoisanadjectiveinChineseindicatingthesmallextenttheheatreaches.FromthedayoftheLesserHeat,theweathergetshotteracrossChina,andcropsalloverthecountrygrowfasterandstronger.ThePlumrain,or鈥渕oldrain鈥漵easoninsomepartsofsouthernChina,isabouttoend,whileeverythingunderthesunpreparestowelcomethehottestsummerdays.InmanyplacesofChina,peopleeatdumplingsonthisdayinhopesofagoodappetiteduringsummer.
apartfromthis,daysaroundtheLesserHeatmarktheperfecttimeofyeartogoonwatermelonbinges!doyouknowhowtopickthemostwateryandsweetestwatermelons?Herearethreetips:first,touchtherind.Theoneswithasmoothrindaretotallyripewhilethosewhichdon鈥檛feelsmoothmightnotyetberipeenoughtobeeaten.second,listentothesound.Tapthewatermelongentlyandlistenforaclearsound.Third,payattentiontothestems.Theoneswhicharetotallyripewillhavewitheredstemsinsteadofgreenones.
Lotusflowers,fromsnowwhitetopinkanddarkredones,bloomundertheburningsunintheponds,whiledragonfliesalightontopofthemfromtimetotime,creatingamostadorablesceneinsummer.Chinesepeoplefromancienttimeshaveappreciatedthisgracefulflowerasitcomesoutofthedirtymud,yetalwaysremainsunsoiled.Lotusflowersandtheirbigroundgreenleavesarenotonlyadelighttotheeye;theyalsoproduceoneofthefavoritevegetablesonChinesediningtables:lotusroots.
Outdoors,cricketswhichusuallyliveundergroundinholesorinthegrassstridulatetheloudestinthewildernessduringscorchingweather.Indoors,asthere鈥檚plentyofrainatthistimefromsouthtonorth,it鈥檚easyforclothes,books,foodorfurnituretogomoldy,soit鈥檚highlyimportanttoairthemwhenthesunrideshighinthesky.
Hotsummerisalwaysthefavoriteseasonofchildrenastheyhaveenoughreasonstoenjoyicecreamtothefullest,toeatdifferentkindsoffruitandaboveall,tohavealongsummerholiday!ThesummervacationinChinaspanstwowholemonths,fromearlyJulytoearlySeptember.ThisexcitingholidaybeginsaroundLesserHeat;atthistimechildrenhavejustfinishedtheirfinalexamsandcan鈥檛waittothrowawaytheirheavyschoolbagsandhomeworkandgoouttohavefunwiththeirpals.Inthecountryside,childrengotothestreamstocatchfishandshrimps,orgotothewoodstocatchcicadas;incitieswheretheurbanheattakescontrolofthewholeplace,childrenliketogotomuseums,libraries,andswimmingpoolstostaycoolandenjoytheday!