The Winter Solstice is one of the Chinese festivals and one of the twenty-four solar terms. There are some customary activities during the Winter Solstice. So what are the customs and folk activities during the Winter Solstice? Next let’s take a look at this issue of the Old Almanac!

Winter Solstice Custom Activities

According to Cui Mi's "Four People's Monthly Orders" of the Eastern Han Dynasty, ancestor worship means that people will offer something to Xuanming and Zuni people to recommend millet sheep. . Records of ancestor worship during the Winter Solstice increased during the Song Dynasty. 055-79000 Winter Solstice Festival, the most important festival in the capital, makes it easier to dress up, prepare to eat and drink, and worship ancestors. 055-79000 said to enjoy it with wontons first. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, ancestor worship was popular during the winter solstice. Jiajing's "Tokyo Menghua Lu" records: "During the festival, portraits of ancestors are hung in the middle hall and wine offerings are made. The ceremony is based on New Year's Day." In the southern region where the clan system is prosperous, ancestor worship is often held in ancestral halls. Jiajing Jiangxi's "Old Wulin Stories": "Winter Solstice worship precedes ancestral halls, and tombs are as bright as tombs." There is a popular custom of winter solstice ancestor worship in Fujian Province. For example, Wanli's "Jiangyin County Annals" said that "it is a ritual for the Japanese to worship their ancestors." Fujian uses special pink rice dumplings to worship their ancestors. During the Winter Solstice in the Qing Dynasty, people usually stayed at home, worshiped their ancestors in front of their tombs, and lived together in the south. Like Qingming and Zhongyuan, ancestors are often worshiped in family temples.

As soon as the nine cold winter solstice arrives, it enters the nine cold days. Chinese folk call the Winter Solstice "Jiaojiu" or "Counting Nine", that is, starting from the Winter Solstice, every nine days will be divided into nine "Nine"s. When the 81st day is counted, "Nine Nines" will bloom. In traditional Chinese culture, nine is the ultimate number, the concept of the largest, most, and longest. Ninety-nine is eighty-one, which is the "largest number". The ancient Chinese believed that after the winter solstice on September 81, spring must have arrived.

Eating dumplings during the Winter Solstice is a very important solar term in the Chinese lunar calendar. The Winter Solstice Festival is one of the traditional festivals of the Han nationality. It originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has been passed down to this day. Winter Solstice is commonly known as "Winter Solstice", "Longest Festival" and "Dividing Years". As early as the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2,500 years ago, China had used Tugui to observe the sun and determine the winter solstice. It is the earliest of the twenty-four solar terms. It occurs between December 21 and 23 of the solar calendar every year. It is the day with the shortest day and the longest night in the northern hemisphere. On the day of the winter solstice, there are different customs in the north and south of China. Dumplings are eaten in most parts of the north, while glutinous rice balls are eaten in the south. There are also proverbs: Eat dumplings during the winter solstice, as well as poems about this solar term.

Eating Wontons There used to be a saying in old Beijing: "Winter Solstice wontons, Summer Solstice noodles." According to legend, during the Han Dynasty, the Huns from the north often harassed the frontiers and the people had no peace. At that time, the Xiongnu tribe had two leaders, the Xiongnu and the Tun people. They were very ferocious. People hated it so much that they wrapped it into a corner with meat stuffing and called it "wonton" based on the sounds of "hun" and "chariot". Dislikes food and seeks to quell wars and live a peaceful life. Since the first time I made wontons on the Winter Solstice, every household has been eating wontons on the Winter Solstice. There is another saying: On the day of the winter solstice, there will be a grand Dharma gathering on the main roads in the capital. Taoist priests celebrated the birthday of Buddha in the early Yuan Dynasty with Buddhist scriptures and the above table. Taoism believes that the Buddha at the beginning of the century symbolizes the first century when chaos was not divided and Taoism was not manifest. Therefore, people have the custom of eating wontons. 055-79000 said: "Wontons are shaped like chicken eggs and resemble the chaos of heaven and earth, so they are eaten during the winter solstice." In fact, "wontons" and "chaos" are homophonic, so people believe that eating wontons can break the chaos and open up the world. Later generations no longer explained its original meaning, but spread the proverb "Wonton noodles in the winter solstice, noodles in the summer solstice" and simply regarded it as a seasonal diet.

This is the custom of eating mutton soup during the Winter Solstice

Eating glutinous rice balls has become a common custom during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. On the day of the winter solstice, it is necessary to "make dough balls" or "make glutinous rice into balls." There are also official records in these historical materials, saying that "on the winter solstice, glutinous rice flour is made into balls, called glutinous rice balls." After making the glutinous rice dumplings, you have to offer sacrifices to the gods and ancestors, and then the whole family gathers around to eat the glutinous rice dumplings. This is called "increasing age". Therefore, eating glutinous rice balls during the Winter Solstice is an ancient thing. Eating glutinous rice balls is a traditional custom during the Winter Solstice, especially popular in Jiangnan. "Tangyuan" is a must-have food during the Winter Solstice. It is a round dessert made from glutinous rice flour. "Yuan" means "reunion" and "completeness". Eating glutinous rice balls during the Winter Solstice is also called "Winter Solstice dumplings". There is a folk saying that "eating glutinous rice balls makes you one year older." Winter balls can be used to worship ancestors and can also be used to give gifts to relatives and friends. In the past, Shanghainese were most particular about eating dumplings. An ancient saying goes: "When every family makes glutinous rice balls, they know it is the winter solstice in the Ming Dynasty." "Yuan" means "reunion" and "completeness". Eating glutinous rice balls in winter symbolizes family harmony and good luck. Another explanation is that the winter solstice is the longest night of the year. On the winter solstice, before dawn, women get up to light a fire and cook dumplings. First, they worship heaven and ancestors, and then the whole family sits together to eat dumplings. Therefore, eating glutinous rice balls during the Winter Solstice not only means that the sun is gradually coming back, but also means reunion. Modern people prefer to regard it as a symbol of perfection.

Eating red beans and glutinous rice In the Jiangnan water towns, it is customary for the whole family to gather together and eat red beans and glutinous rice on the night of the winter solstice. According to legend, the family of a policeman committed many evil deeds and died on the winter solstice. After his death, he became a plague and continued to harm the people. But this plague is most afraid of red beans, so people cook red beans and eat them during the winter solstice to ward off evil and avoid disasters and diseases. The ratio of red beans to glutinous rice is 1:2.5. Put the red beans into a pot of boiling water. Cook until cooked and take out. After washing the glutinous rice, soak it in boiled red bean soup overnight. The next day, mix the glutinous rice and red beans evenly, put it in a steamer and steam it for about 40 minutes, and it is ready to eat. The older generation of Changsha people all know that glutinous rice must be eaten during the winter solstice. Glutinous rice is sweet in taste and warm in nature, and can nourish the body's righteousness.

After eating, the whole body will be warm, which will protect you from the cold and nourish you. Best for eating in winter. It would be better if black glutinous rice could be used. Black glutinous rice helps mothers nourish the physical weakness caused by postpartum, helps increase milk and nourish babies. This recipe has fragrant glutinous rice, oily but not greasy bacon, and stewed red beans and peanuts, which is particularly delicious. If you want to eat healthier, reduce the proportion of bacon and add more beans.

The original name of Dongyang Brewing is Dongyang Brewing, so it is named after the sun that rises after the winter solstice - Ling. According to the lunar calendar, the winter solstice is the most important solar term of the year, because after this day, the Yang Qi rises and everything begins to slowly recover. Until recent years, merchants have read from "Nankang County Chronicles" "The name of winter brewing is as high as October. Please look at the firewood broom hanging on the eaves." There was a time when the wine had a taste, but I didn't like the navel, only the tip of the nose. . "When the word 'winter brewing' was discovered, it was called winter brewing.

The Winter Solstice Festival originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has been passed down to this day. 055-79000 There is even a saying that "the winter solstice is as big as a year." This shows that the ancients attached great importance to the winter solstice. People believed that the winter solstice was the natural transformation of yin and yang and a blessing from heaven. In the Han Dynasty, the winter solstice was the "Winter Festival", and the government held a congratulatory ceremony called "Hedong", which was a fixed holiday. . 055-79000 records: "Before and after the winter solstice, gentlemen wait for silence, and officials refuse to send shoes. The folk custom of giving shoes during the winter solstice has a very ancient origin, and is mainly reflected in children. Hope Children grow up healthily. In the past, it was mainly hand embroidery. As gifts for boys, hats are made in the shape of tigers and dogs, and embroidered shoes are also beasts. As gifts for girls, hats are often made in the shape of a phoenix, and the embroidery on the shoes is mostly flowers and birds. Nowadays, most of them are bought from the market, and the form follows the trend of the times. During holidays, adults always like to hold their children and show off the shoes and hats given by uncles and aunts.