六、 赏菊花

  It is also a good season to enjoy chrysanthemums in full blossom around Autumn Equinox.

  秋分前后，正是菊花盛放时，赏菊品香好时节。

  Standing eggs on end

  七、 竖鸡蛋

  On Autumn Equinox day, there are thousands of people in the world trying to make eggs stand on end. This Chinese custom has become the world’s game.

  秋分这天，世界各地成千上万的人在做竖蛋试验。这种中国习俗已成为世界游戏。

  According to experts, on the Spring Equinox and Autumn Equinox, the day and night are of equal time both in the southern and northern hemispheres. The earth’s axis, on its 66.5 degree tilt, is in a relative balance of power with the earth’s orbit around the sun. Thus it is a very conducive time for standing eggs on end.

  据专家介绍，春分、秋分当日，南、北半球日夜均等。呈66.5度倾斜的地轴与地球日公转的轨道平面处于一种力的相对平衡状态，因此，有助于鸡蛋竖立起来。

  But some also say that standing the egg has nothing to do with the time. The most important thing is to shift the egg‘s center of gravity to the lowest part of the egg. In this way, the trick is holding the egg until the yolk sinks as much as possible. For this, you’re better off choosing an egg that’s about 4 or 5 days old, whose yolk is inclined to sink down.

  但也有人认为能否竖蛋与秋分无关。最关键的是要把鸡蛋重心下移。如此一来，只有蛋黄尽可能下沉，才能完成这个恶作剧了。竖蛋时候，最好选择刚出生4、5天的鸡蛋，这样的鸡蛋蛋黄下沉，重心下降，更有利于竖蛋的成功。

  Sacrificing to the moon

  八、 祭秋月

  Originally, the festival of sacrificing to the moon was set on the Autumnal Equinox day. According to historical records, as early as the Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century-256BC), the ancient kings by custom sacrificed to the sun on the Spring Equinox, and to the moon on the Autumn Equinox.

  原本祭月节是设定在秋分这天的。据史实记载，早在周朝(公元前11世纪至256年)，古代君王便依照习俗于春分祭日，秋分祭月。

  But since it is not a fixed day in lunar August, there might be no full moon on the Autumnal Equinox. During the festival, if there was no moon to make sacrifices to, it would spoil the fun. Thus, the day was changed to the Mid-Autumn Day.

  但因每年农历八月，这一天并不固定，秋分当日并不一定都出现圆月，而祭月若无月，则大煞风景，故而，将祭月节由秋分改为中秋举行。