Introduction: The Winter Solstice is coming. At the end of February every year, the arrival of the Winter Solstice can be said to be officially winter, and several days start from this time. The winter solstice food in each region is different, so do you know what Suzhou people eat on the winter solstice? Why do Suzhou people attach importance to the winter solstice? If you want to know, let's take a look at the introduction of Xiaobian.
what do Suzhou people eat on the winter solstice
1. Wonton
Suzhou people pay attention to the winter solstice wonton noodles and eat wonton on the winter solstice, which means eating the "chaotic world" and making the world refreshed and better! The ancients said that the heaven is round and the place is round. The square wonton skin represents the ground, and the stuffing in the tundish is the weather. When wrapped together, it is a "chaotic world" in which heaven and earth are inseparable and integrated.
2. Eating stewed vegetables
Mutton cake, sauced meat, sauced duck and barbecued pork, among which mutton cake is a must. Every family in Suzhou will prepare a lamb cake on the winter solstice. Don't buy pot-stewed vegetables for winter solstice night too early. Pot-stewed vegetables can only be kept for two or three days, and it is easy to breed bacteria if they are left for too long. It's not too late to buy before the winter solstice night.
Third, eat the winter solstice dumplings
Suzhou people also have the saying of "winter solstice dumplings". The winter solstice dumplings are also called "rice dumplings". On the night before the winter solstice, they are ground into balls, stuffed with minced meat, vegetables and fruits, red bean paste and shredded radish, and sacrificed and presented to each other. There is still the custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice in rural areas. Pay attention to the package. The white dumplings are filled with meat, the green dumplings are filled with sesame seeds, the yellow dumplings are filled with shredded radish and the red dumplings are filled with bean paste.
4. Winemaking in Winter
Suzhou people like quiet and good wine. When, what wine to drink, when and when the wine is brewed, and when it will be unsealed. As elegant and sultry as it is, it is natural to warm a pot of winter wine as big as the winter solstice night of 2118. Suzhou people all brew winter wine by themselves. In September and October, the older generation in the family shook off the fragrant pearls of goose yellow under the osmanthus tree in front of their house. The warm fragrance was like the most reserved and dignified girl in Suzhou. After being spread flat and air-dried, it was fermented with glutinous rice, gardenia and distiller's yeast into a smooth throat and gentle taste, while the sunlight-like wine fragrance dispersed in the air was like an ordinary day in Suzhou.
5. Eat mutton
"Tonifying in winter solstice and killing tigers in spring" is a popular folk saying. Suzhou people have also started to make up for it since the winter solstice, and what they eat is the well-known collection of mutton at home and abroad. Mutton is a hot thing, which can promote blood circulation and enhance the ability to keep out the cold. In addition to the traditional winter solstice custom, Suzhou people still eat mutton on this day.
six, eat soy sauce
Many old Suzhou people eat soy sauce as the main course at the winter solstice banquet. For Suzhou people, the key to whether this sauce is good or not lies in its bad prescription, and then it is crisp and rotten. Sauce skin melts at the entrance, the lean meat is fragrant and moist, and the fat meat is smooth and not greasy!
Why do Suzhou people attach importance to the winter solstice
For Suzhou people, celebrating the winter solstice is as important as celebrating the New Year.
Shen Jiandong, a folk expert in Suzhou, said that the winter solstice is a traditional solar term in China, but people pay special attention to it when they live alone in Suzhou, Wu, which is related to a historical story.
Gugong _ Father, the leader of Zhou tribe p>3111 years ago, had three sons, Taibo, Zhongyong and Jili. My father wanted to pass on the position of leader to Ji Li. In order to fulfill his father, Taibo and Zhongyong left their original residence with their own people and came to Jiangnan, which was known as "Taibo Ben Wu" in history. After coming to Wudi, Taibo brought the more advanced production technology and calendar of the Zhou Dynasty.
"In the calendar of Zhou Dynasty, the winter solstice is the first day of New Year's Day, and the day before the winter solstice is equivalent to New Year's Eve. Although we later used the summer calendar instead of the Zhou calendar, the importance attached to this day has been passed down. " Shen Jiandong said that the winter solstice is actually equivalent to the New Year in the Zhou calendar, so Suzhou people will worship their ancestors on this day and invite their ancestors to spend the winter solstice together. After the ancestor worship, the family will sit around and have a reunion dinner, and the younger generation will wear new clothes to pay their respects to the elders, which is called "Happy Festival", "Happy Winter" or "Winter Worship".
With the passage of time, the custom of offering sacrifices to the winter solstice and worshipping winter has faded out of Suzhou people's life, but a rich winter solstice night meal is essential. The staple food should be wonton, the side dishes should be soy sauce and a warm pot, the drinks should be winter wine, and the snacks after tea should be winter solstice dumplings. Old Suzhou, who happily buys the food of the winter solstice, told reporters that the food of the winter solstice is not particular, and this is particular, which places Suzhou people's expectations for a better life.
On the dinner table of the Winter New Year's Eve, the "reunion dinner", whether it's stir-fried in a cold basin or fried with chicken, duck and fish, should be given an elegant name. Egg dumplings are called "Yuanbao", meatballs are called "Reunion", vermicelli is called "golden chain", bean sprouts are called "ruyi dish" and fish is called "eating more than enough", and so on. Every dish is permeated with joy. "Wonton" is homophonic for "chaos". People eat "Wonton" on the Winter Solstice Festival, which means eating a "chaotic world" and returning to a peaceful world. Winter brewing is not high, suitable for all ages, and can drive away the cold. A sip symbolizes that winter goes and spring comes.
In addition, Suzhou has a folk proverb of "Clean Winter Solstice and Sloppy Year" and "Sloppy Winter Solstice and Clean Year", which means that it rains and snows before and after the Winter Solstice and it is sunny on New Year's Eve. If the winter solstice is sunny, there will be rain and snow and muddy roads on New Year's Eve. However, folk weather proverbs are not completely accurate. According to the records, in Suzhou in the past 21 years, the "hit rate" of this folk proverb is only 51%.