立夏 | 孟夏之日，万物并秀
立夏之日，蝼蝈鸣
2021年5月5日14时47分，我国正式进入立夏节气。 立夏是二十四节气中的第七个节气，象征着夏季开始。
《逸周书·时讯解》写道：“立夏之日，蝼蝈鸣。又五日，蚯蚓出。又五日，王瓜生。”立夏时节人们能听到田间蛙虫鸣叫的声音，慢慢会看到蚯蚓出洞，接着就是瓜果快速生长爬藤的过程。
立夏后，温度明显升高，炎暑将临，雷雨增多。明代《莲生八戕》写有：“孟夏之日，天地始交，万物并秀。”立夏时节，万物繁茂。这时夏收作物进入生长后期，冬小麦扬花灌浆，油菜接近成熟，夏收作物年景基本定局，故农谚有“立夏看夏”之说。水稻栽插以及其他春播作物的管理也进入了大忙季节。
Start of Summer is the seventh of the 24 solar terms on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, marking the beginning of summer. When it arrives, heat increases across the country as the days become longer, and rain becomes more frequent.
#1 立夏蛋
说起立夏最经典的食物还属立夏蛋。立夏蛋最早就是用吃剩的茶叶渣煮鸡蛋，现在则多指五香茶鸡蛋。“立夏吃蛋”的习俗由来已久。俗话说：“立夏吃了蛋，热天不疰夏。”相传从立夏这一天起，天气晴暖并渐渐炎热起来，许多人特别是小孩子会有身体疲劳四肢无力的感觉，食欲减退逐渐消瘦，称之为“疰夏”。古人认为，立夏日吃鸡蛋能经受“疰夏”的考验。
In ancient China, people believed eating eggs on the first day of summer would help bring good health. They put leftover tea into boiled water, together with eggs, thus creating the original "tea eggs." Later people improved cooking methods and added spices to the eggs to make them taste even more delicious.
#2 立夏饭
在南方许多地区，还有吃立夏饭的习俗，不过每个地方做的立夏饭都不太一样，甚至一个地方会有多种做法。比如杭州特色的立夏饭分两种，一种是乌米饭，一种是豌豆糯米饭。关于立夏饭的由来，有一种民间说法是，在过去，每逢立夏前一天，孩子们向邻家第户讨米一碗，称"兜夏夏米"，待到米饭煮好后，再分送日前给米的人家一小碗。民间认为，小孩吃了立夏饭，可防中暑。
Many Chinese families prepare specially-cooked rice for the first day of summer. One popular folk saying holds that in ancient times, children would ask their neighbors for a bowl of rice, and then cook the rice together with some other ingredients such as peas. People believed that eating such rice would keep children from heatstroke.
#3 尝三鲜
立夏尝三鲜，即在立夏之日品尝时鲜。三鲜分地三鲜、树三鲜、水三鲜。地三鲜即蚕豆、苋菜、黄瓜；树三鲜即樱桃、枇杷、杏子；水三鲜即海蛳、河豚、鲥鱼。关于立夏尝三鲜的典故，元代《月令七十二候集解》有记载：“四月节，立建始也；夏，假也，物至此时皆假大也。”此时气候温暖趋热、新鲜果蔬纷纷上市，民间节俗以“尝鲜”为主，谚曰：“立夏尝三鲜。”
The first day of summer is also a good time to try some seasonal delicacies. Vegetables such as amaranth and cucumber, fruits such as cherry and loquat and aquatic products such as hilsa herring and balloon fish are at their juicy best.