24 Solar Terms: 8 things you may not know about Autumn Equinox

Eggs and Sea Food, by Zhang Dazhuang. [Photo/artron.net]

Standing eggs on end

On Autumn Equinox day, there are thousands of people in the world trying to make eggs stand on end. This Chinese custom has become the world's game.

According to experts, on the Spring Equinox and Autumn Equinox, the day and night are of equal time both in the southern and northern hemispheres. The earth's axis, on its 66.5 degree tilt, is in a relative balance of power with the earth's orbit around the sun. Thus it is a very conducive time for standing eggs on end.

But some also say that standing the egg has nothing to do with the time. The most important thing is to shift the egg‘s center of gravity to the lowest part of the egg. In this way, the trick is holding the egg until the yolk sinks as much as possible. For this, you're better off choosing an egg that's about 4 or 5 days old, whose yolk is inclined to sink down.