1, sugar cane: In Chaoshan area, beginning of winter wants to eat sugar cane and fried fragrant rice. Sugarcane can become one of the foods for "supplementing winter" because there has always been a folk saying that "eating sugarcane in beginning of winter does not hurt the teeth", which means that the sugarcane in "beginning of winter" is ripe and will not get angry when eaten. At this time, "eating sugarcane" can protect the teeth.
2. Chestnut fried rice: Every solar term in Shantou pays attention to eating different seasonal delicacies. As the saying goes, "Three-nine supplements one winter, and there will be no illness in the coming year", "beginning of winter supplements" and eating chestnut fried rice are unique customs in Shantou. Chinese herbal medicines used for tonic medicinal diet include ginseng, angelica, medlar, American ginseng, fish glue, pilose antler, Cordyceps sinensis, Poria, Astragalus membranaceus, etc., and commonly used foods in medicinal diet include black-bone chicken, partridge, pigeon, quail, duck, etc.
3. Ginger Duck: In southern China, people in beginning of winter like to eat some chicken, duck and fish. On this day in beginning of winter, Taiwan Province, mutton stoves and ginger ducks on the street supplement the restaurant weddings in winter. Many families will also stew sesame oil chicken and siwu chicken to supplement energy.
Other customs in beginning of winter:
1, yellow wine brewing: It is a traditional Shaoxing wine-making custom to start brewing yellow wine on the day of beginning of winter. In winter, the water is cool and the temperature is low, which can effectively inhibit the breeding of miscellaneous bacteria and make the wine form a good flavor in the process of low temperature and long-term fermentation. It is the most suitable season for wine fermentation. Therefore, Shaoxing people call the most suitable time to make yellow wine from beginning of winter to beginning of spring in the following year "winter brewing" and pray for happiness.
2. Sacrificing ancestors to heaven: In the old days, people held activities to worship ancestors and heaven on beginning of winter Day. Even the busiest farmers should take a day off at home, kill chickens and sheep, prepare seasonal products, and sacrifice their ancestors on the one hand to fulfill their obligations and responsibilities for future generations; On the one hand, sacrifice to heaven, thank God for the good harvest, and pray for good weather in the coming year; And the wine and food after the sacrificial ceremony can also make farmers who have worked hard for a year reward themselves.
3. Winter Swimming: In some places, the way to celebrate beginning of winter has also been innovated. In Harbin, Heilongjiang, Shangqiu, Henan, Yichun, Jiangxi, Wuhan, Hubei and other places, winter swimmers used this way to welcome the arrival of winter. Winter swimming is a favorite way for people to exercise in winter, whether in the north or the south.