Grain Buds is the 8th solar term of the lunar twenty-four solar terms and the first one in the summer season. It begins on May 21 and ends on June 6 this year.
小满是农历二十四节气中的第八个节气，也是夏季的第二个节气。从今年5月21日开始，到6月6日结束。
There are two meanings of Grain Buds. First, it is related to climate precipitation. First, during the Grain Buds period, heavy rain begins to increase and precipitation becomes frequent in the south as a proverb goes "A heavy rainfall makes the river full." The Chinese character "满" refers to the abundance of rain. Second, it has to do with wheat. During this period, the seeds from the grain are becoming full but are not ripe, so it is called "Xiaoman".
小满之名，有两层含义。第一，与气候降水有关。小满期间南方的暴雨开始增多，降水频繁，民谚云：“小满小满江河满”。小满中的“满”，指雨水之盈。第二， 与农业小麦有关。这个时期，农作物的颗粒开始变得饱满，但并未完全成熟，因而叫做“小满”。
一、节气特征 (Features of Grain Buds)
During the Grain Buds season, there is usually a lot of rainfall in southern China. The warm and wet air from the ocean is active and converges with the cold air from the north to the south. At this time, there will often be continuous large-scale heavy precipitation in South China, resulting in heavy rain or extremely heavy rain. In the north, there is little or no rain in this period, during which the temperature rises rapidly and the temperature difference with the south shrinks further.
小满节气期间，中国南方地区一般会降雨多、雨量大；来自海洋的暖湿气流活跃，与从北方南进的冷空气交汇，这时华南地区往往会出现持续大范围的强降水，造成暴雨或特大暴雨。在北方，小满节气期间降雨很少或无雨，这期间气温上升很快，与南方的温差进一步缩小。
二、传统习俗Traditions of Grain Buds
（1）祁蚕节 Celebrating silkworm deity birthday
养蚕是江南人的传统副业。小满时节，桑蚕已经结成了茧，人们开始煮茧缫丝。江苏、浙江两地人们认为小满是蚕神的诞辰。丝绸产业的人们为感谢蚕神，会为其提供祭品、组织祭祀表演。人们会祈求蚕神保佑丝绸生意繁荣发展。
Silkworm rearing is a traditional byproduct for people in regions south of the Yangtze River. During the Grain Buds period, silkworms have cocooned. People begin to cook cocoons and prepare the spinning wheel for reeling silk. People in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces regard this season as the birthday of the silkworm deity. Those who engage in the silk industry thank the deity by offering sacrifices and staging performances. They pray to the deity for blessings and a boom season for the silk business.
（2）食苦菜 Eating herb of common sow thistle
Grain Buds is a season for eating the herb of the common sow thistle, which is one of the earliest edible potherbs in China. It tastes a little bitter and tart, but also sweet. It has the function of cooling the blood and detoxifying the body. It can be made into different types of dishes.
小满还要吃苦菜，这种菜是中国最早的可食用野菜之一。苦菜尝起来有点苦酸、略带甜味，具有清热解毒的功效，可被做成各种不同的菜肴。
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（3）Good season for eating mulberries 食桑葚
A Chinese farmer proverb says, "Mulberries become black during the Grain Buds period". Thus, it is a good season to eat mulberries.
中国农民有句谚语：小满桑葚黑。因此，这是一个吃桑葚的好季节。
三、节气养生（Regimen in Grain Buds)
As the temperature rises during Grain Buds, people tend to feel irritable. People should keep a good mood to avoid hypertension, cerebrovascular accident and other cardiovascular diseases. As the temperature keeps rising, people tend to use cold drinks to cool down, but excessive cold drinks can lead to abdominal pain, diarrhea and other diseases.The digestive system of children development is not sound and the elderly viscera function gradually subsided so that they are more prone to this situation. Therefore, people should avoid eating too much raw and cold food in terms of diet.
小满时气温升高，人们也易感到烦躁不安，此时要保持心情舒畅，以防引发高血压、脑血管意外等心脑血管病。气温不断升高，人们往往喜爱用冷饮消暑降温，但冷饮过量会导致腹痛、腹泻等病症。由于小孩消化系统发育尚未健全，老人脏腑机能逐渐消退，所以小孩和老人更易出现此种情况。因此，饮食方面要注意避免过量进食生冷食物。
It is appropriate to participate in some outdoor activities such as chess, calligraphy, fishing and so on. You can also take part in physical exercise in the morning such as walking, jogging, Tai Chi and so on, rather than strenuous exercise.
也可多参与一些户外活动如下棋、书法、钓鱼等，同时也可在清晨参加体育锻炼，以散步、慢跑、打太极拳等为宜，不宜做过于剧烈的运动。
（文/刘爽，图/刘爽，编辑/苏秀娟，审核/王俊华）
