eat jiaozi on the winter solstice.

The winter solstice, also known as Solstice, Winter Festival, Sub-Year, etc., has both natural and humanistic connotations. It is not only an important solar term among the 24 solar terms, but also a traditional folk festival of ancestor worship in China. In many parts of northern China, it is customary to eat jiaozi on the winter solstice every year. The northern part of China wants to eat jiaozi on this day because jiaozi means "cooling off the cold". So far, there is a folk saying that "nobody cares if you freeze your ears on the winter solstice".

the winter solstice is the 22nd solar term of the "twenty-four solar terms", with the solar meridian reaching 27, and it is celebrated on December 21-23 of the Gregorian calendar every year. The winter solstice is the extreme point where the direct sunlight travels southward. On the winter solstice, the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Capricorn, and the sun is most inclined to the northern hemisphere, and the solar altitude angle is the smallest. It is the shortest day and the longest night in all parts of the northern hemisphere. The winter solstice is also the turning point of the sun's direct point returning to the north. After this day, it will go back, and the sun's direct point will begin to move northward from the Tropic of Capricorn, and the daytime in the northern hemisphere will increase day by day.

custom of winter solstice

1. Painting Nine

The so-called Painting Nine is actually a picture for calculating the date of spring warmth after the winter solstice. In the Ming Dynasty, "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" contained: "On the winter solstice, a plum blossom is painted, which is one in eighty petals. Dye one petal a day, and the petals will come out in 99, then the spring will be deep, saying that 99 will eliminate the cold. " There are three patterns in the "Nine-Nine Cold Relief Map", namely, words, circles and plum blossoms.

2. Brewing rice wine

Traditional people in Gusu drink winter wine on the night of the winter solstice, and the winter wine is brewed with glutinous rice or yellow rice and sweet-scented osmanthus.

3. Eating glutinous rice balls

Eating glutinous rice balls is a traditional custom on the winter solstice, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. "Tangyuan" is an essential food in the winter solstice, and "round" means "reunion" and "perfection". Eating tangyuan in the winter solstice is also called "winter solstice round". There is a folk saying that "one year older after eating glutinous rice balls".

4. Drink mutton soup

On the winter solstice every year, the Chengdu-Jianyang Expressway connecting Chengdu, Sichuan Province ushered in a busy time of the year. People drove into jianyang city, which is located on the east side of Longquan Mountain, just to find a steaming bowl of mutton soup.

above content reference: Baidu encyclopedia-winter solstice