秋 Qiū

After the Autumn harvest, farmers burn the grain fields to destroy nesting locust eggs. This practice ensures the success of next year’s crop by minimizing devastation from these pests. Therefore, 秋 is the season to burn crops for the next year's harvest and it is a compound ideogram formed by combining the characters for 禾 (grain, cereal) and 火 (fire).

中秋节 (zhōng qiū jié), The Mid-Autumn Festival (The Moon Festival), and 重阳节 (chóng yáng jié) Double Ninth Festival are two traditional Chinese holidays that take place in the Autumn.The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates the harvest and family unity and is always celebrated during a full moon. This holiday has been celebrated since the Shang Dynasty and remains an integral part of Chinese culture. During the Double Ninth Festival, people climb mountains and drink chrysanthemum wine or tea to protect against bad luck from the date’s excess yang. It is also a date for paying respect to ancestors.

• Component Characters:禾 Hé | "Grain", "Cereal" and 火 Huǒ | "Fire"
• Compound Characters:愁 Chóu | "Worry"
• Idiom:一日三秋 | "Longing"
• Category:Compound Ideograph