The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Awakening of Insects(Chinese: 惊蛰) falls on Mar 5 this year.
中国传统农历将一年分为24个节气。今年的惊蛰是在3月5日。
It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 345° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 360°.
当太阳到达黄经345°开始，达到360°经度的时候结束。
More often, it refers to the day when the Sun is exactly at a celestial longitude of 345°.
更多的时候,它指的是太阳正是在黄经345°的那一天。
In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around March 5 and ends around March 20.
在格里高里历(公历)中，它通常在3月5日开始，3月20日左右结束。
Traditional Chinese folklore says that during Jingzhe, thunderstorms will wake up the hibernating insects, which implies that the weather is getting warmer.
中国传统民俗惊蛰期间，雷雨将唤醒冬眠的虫子,这意味着天气变暖。
Awakening of Insects signals a rise in temperature and increased rain fall. As the third solar term in the lunar year, its name alludes to the fact that animals sleeping in winter are awakened by spring thunder and that the earth begins to come back to life. It is the key time for spring agricultural activities.
惊蛰的到来，预示着气温的升高和降雨量的增加。作为农历的第三个节气，顾名思义，惊蛰意味着冬眠的动物被春雷唤醒，大地上万物复苏。此时中国大部分地区进入了春耕的季节。
Old Chinese sayings such as "Once the Awakening of Insects comes, spring ploughing never rests" reveal the importance of this term to farmers.
古谚说“过了惊蛰节，春耕不能歇”，显示了这个节气对农民的重要性。
【节气风俗】
Offering sacrifices to the white tiger
祭白虎
According to ancient Chinese folklore, a white tiger is the creature that brings quarrels and disputes.
根据中国古代民间传说，白虎是会引起争吵和纠纷的生物。
When practicing this old custom, people draw the white tiger on paper, and then smear pig's blood and pork on its mouth. This means the tiger is fed so that it would not bite people, avoiding bad luck and conflict.
祭白虎，就是画一只白虎在纸上，再在它的嘴上涂猪血或者猪油，意思是让它吃饱后不再咬人，避免坏运气和是非矛盾。
Beating "villains"
打“小人”
People often assign a specific “witch” (usually an elderly woman) to "beat the villains". They use paper cut in the shape of humans to represent "villains" in their lives and the "witch" would use shoes or other tools to hit the paper to expel bad luck.
人们经常指派特定的“女巫”(通常是一位老年妇女)去“打小人”。他们用剪出人形的剪纸，代表生活中的“小人”，“女巫”会用鞋子或其他工具去打“纸小人”，驱逐厄运。
【词串】
to expel bad luck:驱除厄运
随着时间的流逝，前两种习俗已经很少出现在人们的日常生活中了，但是下面这种还是非常鼓励大家进行的。
Eating pears
惊蛰吃梨
Eating pears around the Awakening of Insects is a widely-practiced custom in China. As the weather gets warmer and the air becomes dry, people tend to feel their mouths are parched and tongues dry, which can cause colds or coughs. A pear is sweet, juicy and cold, moistening the lungs to arrest a cough. Therefore, pears are highly recommended during the Awakening of Insects.
我国民间素有惊蛰吃梨的习俗。随着天气变暖，天气比较干，人们很容易口干舌燥，容易因此患上感冒或咳嗽。梨味甘、多汁、性寒，有润肺止咳的功效。因此，惊蛰时节应多吃梨。
