The Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, is today, June 10th in the Gregorian calendar. Many folklore experts believe that the Dragon Boat Festival is the day with the strongest Yang (陽) energy of the year, and people should go out to bask in the sun and absorb some Yang energy. However, the day with the strongest Yang energy is actually the summer solstice, which this year falls on June 21st. Since it's the day with the strongest Yang energy, many people assume that the Earth should be closest to the sun. Actually, it's the opposite. This year, the Earth is closest to the sun on January 4th (winter), and farthest from the sun on July 5th (summer). The difference in distance between the Earth's perihelion and aphelion is about 3 million miles. Of course, it's slightly warmer when the Earth is closer to the sun, but this is not the most important indicator of Earth's temperature. Distance is not important; angle of sunshine is.

(2024-06-10)