24 Solar Terms: 6 things you may not know about Awakening of Insects

A painting of Awakening of Insects from Li Xiaolin. As a popular young Chinese artist, Li combined the customs during a solar term and the associated food and created a series of illustrations named "24 Solar Terms and Chinese Delicacies". [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Awakening of Insects (Chinese: 惊蛰) falls on Mar 5 and ends on Mar 19 this year.

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.

Here are 6 things you may not know about Awakening of Insects.