The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms. Jīngzhé (pīnyīn) is the 3rd solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 345° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 360°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 345°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around March 5 and ends around March 20.
The word 惊蛰 has the meaning of awakening of hibernated insects. 惊 is startling, and 蛰 is hibernated (insects). The traditional Chinese farming culture said that during Jingzhe, thunderstorms will wake up the hibernated insects, which also means the weather is getting warm.
It's also referred to as Longtaitou Festival or Dragon-Head-Raising Festival. In the tradition of Chinese culture, the dragon is believed to be the king of all insects and at same time, it is also believed to be in charge of bringing rains, and both of these are important factors in ancient agricultural society.
Today, Longtaitou Festival is celebrated in various ways, most of which are still identical to those practiced in the ancient times, including eating Chinese pancakes and noodles. Perfume bags filled with the powder of ground fragrant herbs are made to be carried by women and children for good fortune, though they are no longer used as insect repellent as in ancient times.
农历中将一年分为24个节气，惊蛰是第三个，通常指太阳位于黄经345度时的那一天，也即差不多在阳历
“惊蛰”意为“惊醒冬眠的昆虫”。惊蛰期间，雷雨增多，因此冬眠的虫类会被惊起，这也意味着天气会越来越暖。
惊蛰又被称作“龙抬头”，因为龙一抬头，就会下雨嘛。在农业社会，人们相当看重一年的降雨。
今天惊蛰日的庆祝方式多种多样，但是人们仍然保存着像吃春饼和面条这样的传统。妇女和小孩会佩戴香囊，以求好运，虽然今天的香囊已经不再像过去那样，主要是起驱虫的作用。
Learn Chinese online with MasterChinese, get a free trial lesson now!
