Introduction of winter solstice
The winter solstice is one of the earliest of the twenty-four solar terms, and is the first of the twenty-four solar terms. In the traditional calendar, five days are considered as a period, three periods are considered as a section or a qi, and the year is divided into twelve sections and twelve qi, which are collectively known as the twenty-four solar terms. The "Monthly Order 72 Hou Jiejie" says about the winter solstice: "The end of the hidden qi, up to this point and the extreme. Winter solstice on this day, the day south to the day, the day short to the day, the shadow of the day long to the day, so it is called the winter solstice.
Astronomically, the winter solstice is also the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice marks the end of yin to the extreme, yang began to come, but because the sun radiates heat to the ground than the ground to the space of the dispersion of the heat is less, the short-term temperature will continue to fall. Therefore, the winter solstice is also the beginning of cold. During the Yin and Zhou periods, the day before the winter solstice was specified as the day of the end of the year. And because the first month of the weekly calendar is the eleventh month of the summer calendar, so there is no difference between worship and winter, so the winter solstice is also known as the "year of the year", essentially equivalent to today's Spring Festival.
The ancients believed that the winter solstice is a time of chaos and healing. After the winter solstice is the beginning of another year, "Qing Jia Lu" even has "winter solstice is as big as the year", which also shows the importance of the ancients on the winter solstice. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted the summer calendar, the first month and the winter solstice were separated, so it can be said that the "Winter Festival" is only since the Han Dynasty. In order to differentiate it from the "resignation" on the eve of the Spring Festival, the day before the winter solstice is called the small solstice or small winter, which is also known as "add year" or "sub year". The day before the winter solstice is called the small solstice or small winter, and it is also called the "additional year" or "sub-year". The day after the winter solstice is known as the day after the solstice.
Customs of the festival
1, ancestor worship
China's southern coastal areas, such as western Guangdong, Chaoshan, Zhejiang part of the continuation of the traditional custom of ancestor worship. Every family puts the ancestor statue, tablet, etc. in the upper hall of the home, puts the offering table, sets up the incense burner, offerings and so on. At the same time, some places also worship the gods of heaven and land, bowing to the gods, in order to pray for the coming year, the wind and rain, the family and all things happy.
2, eat barbecued pork and ginger rice
Guangdong people eat barbecued pork and ginger rice on the winter solstice, winter solstice day, most of the Guangdong people have a "dish" to eat the winter solstice meat custom. Chaoshan area has a "winter festival pills, a food on the New Year" folk proverb, commonly known as "add years". Hakka people believe that the winter solstice water flavor is the most mellow, so the Hakka people winter solstice brewing has become a custom.
3, eat rice cakes
Hangzhou people eat rice cakes on the winter solstice, eat rice cakes from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties until now Hangzhou people in the winter solstice are happy to eat rice cakes. In every winter solstice to do three meals of different flavors of rice cakes, winter solstice to eat rice cakes, year after year to grow taller, figure a good luck. In Sichuan is the winter solstice to eat mutton soup, mutton is winter can be described as the first winter tonic. Hunan and Hubei area, in the winter solstice that day must eat on the red bean glutinous rice.
4, eat winter solstice group (winter solstice pill)
In some areas of the south, it is more popular to eat winter solstice group (winter solstice pill), take its meaning of reunion. In the early morning of the winter solstice, each family grinds glutinous rice flour and makes fillings with sugar, meat, limes, fruits, radish shreds, etc., and wraps them into winter solstice dumplings, which are not only eaten by their own families, but also given to friends and relatives to show their blessings. In fact, the winter solstice to eat dumplings, is a traditional custom in our country, in the south of the river is more common, the folk also have "ate dumplings a year older" said.
5, eat dumplings, drink mutton soup
In many areas in the north of China, every year on the winter solstice, the custom of eating dumplings. According to legend, when the medical sage Zhang Zhongjing returned to his hometown, he saw the frozen people, and then used mutton and some cold-expelling herbs as well as dough, wrapped in the shape of an ear, made a kind of medicine called "cold-expelling ear soup", alms to the people to eat. Later, every winter solstice, people will imitate do eat, formed a custom.
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