Do you know about Grain in Ear? It is one of the 24 Solar Terms. When the weather gets _1_, the rain starts to fall and grain gets ripe, we know Grain in Ear is just around the corner. This year, it _2_ on June 5.
The arrival of Grain in Ear means _3_ time is coming. Wheat becomes ripe, and so do plums (梅子). _4_ the day of Grain in Ear, people will boil and eat green plums. It is said that this tradition started _5_ two famous people—Cao Cao and Liu Bei. There is a famous story. Cao and Liu _6_ the heroes of their time while boiling and eating green plums with warm wine.
When the plums are ripe, the plum rains come. After Grain in Ear, the _7_ in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River will enter the plum rain season. The long period of _8_ and cloudy weather will last _9_ June and July.
The plum rain season is a good time for _10_ rice, vegetables and fruit, but it also means the falling of _11_. During Grain in Ear, people have ceremonies to say _12_ to the Flower Goddess.
Today we seldom see this tradition in most parts of China. _13_ people can feel the excitement of the ceremony in the famous _14_ A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin. The girls of the Jia family usually make flowers and willow branches into small toys. They also put silk on trees with _15_ threads.
With its busy harvests and natural beauty, Grain in Ear is really a great time of the year.
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