The Start of Summer, 立夏 lì xià

The Start of Summer is the seventh solar term of the Chinese traditional 24 solar terms. As the first solar term to bid farewell to spring and enter summer, the Start of Summer marks the beginning of the summer.

There are some customs such as eating eggs and tasting the new.

Eating eggs

Many places have a tradition of eating eggs on this day. Originally, this was because the weather becomes hot after the solar term and people often lose their appetite, especially children. The folk remedy was to collect tea leaves from neighbors and boil them with charcoal to make tea eggs, beacuse people believed that they could treat the symptom in the hot summer. Later, people gradually added various spices to the eggs to make them more delicious. Eventually, this became the everyday snack known as "茶叶蛋" (tea eggs), which can be enjoyed all year round.

Tasting The New

The so-called "tasting the new" refers to the tradition of tasting some fresh vegetables or fruits on this day. Depending on the region, the "tasting of the new" may differ.  Regardless of the specific foods, the tradition is to taste the fresh and ripe fruits and vegetables, which marks the farewell to the hardworking spring and the welcome of the thriving summer.