今日夏至 Today‘s summer solstice

《夏至》summer solstice

宋代 范成大

李核垂腰祝饐，粽丝系臂扶羸。

节物竞随乡俗，老翁闲伴儿嬉。

译文：大人们腰间挂着李核敬祖先，粽丝系在手臂上求安康。应节的物品竞相随着风俗呈现，老人家慈祥地看着孩子们在祭祀现场打闹。

夏至(Summer Solstice)在每年6月21日-6月22日到来，这时候太阳直射点位于北半球最高点。这天北半球白昼时间达到一年最长，在中国南部地区的日照时长能达到14小时。夏至以后，太阳直射点逐渐向南移动。

“Summer Solstice” comes on June 21 to June 22 each year when the sun altitude arrive the highest in north. This day has the longest day time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the sunshine in many cities in south China may last fourteen hours per day.After this day, the spot of the direct sunlight gradually moves southward.“

尽管夏至这天白昼时间最长，但并不是最热的`一天。根据中国古书记载，炎热的季节分为三阶段。大约从夏至开始，在立秋结束。气温一天天上升，并在七月中旬至八月中旬达到最高温，中国一些城市甚至能达到40摄氏度。

Although, this day has the longest daylight, it’s not the hottest. As traditional Chinese books described, there are three periods of the hot season. It starts around “Summer Solstice” and ends around “Autumn Begins”. The temperature rises day by day and the hottest days come around mid-July to mid-August, where temperatures of some cities in China reach 40 degree Celsius.

在一些省份，夏至有吃凉面的习俗。根据北京地区的旧俗，每到夏至时，人们就会吃凉面刺激食欲，同时也不必担心会腹泻。

In some provinces, there is the tradition of eating cold noodles on this day. According to old customs in Beijing, when it comes to “Summer Solstice”, people can eat cold noodles to stimulate the appetite and at the same time don’t need to worry about having diarrhea.