The traditional customs of the Winter Solstice solar term include painting nine, brewing rice wine, eating glutinous rice balls, eating roast pork and ginger rice, and eating dumplings.

The winter solstice is one of the earliest established solar terms among the twenty-four solar terms in my country. It was called "Rishort" or "Rishort Solstice" in ancient times.

1. Painting Nine? The so-called Painting Nine is actually a diagram used to calculate the date of spring warmth after the winter solstice.

"A Brief Introduction to Scenery of the Imperial Capital" of the Ming Dynasty records: "On the winter solstice, I painted a plain plum branch with eighty-one petals. When the sun dyes one petal, and the petals are gone and ninety-nine come out, it means spring is deep, and it is called the ninety-nine to relieve the cold."

The "Nine-Nine Cold-repelling Picture" has three patterns, namely words, circles and plum blossoms.

?2. Brewing rice wine? Traditional Gusu people will drink winter wine on the night of the winter solstice. Winter wine is brewed with glutinous rice or yellow rice and added with sweet-scented osmanthus.

?3. Eating glutinous rice balls? Eating glutinous rice balls is a traditional custom during the Winter Solstice, especially popular in Jiangnan.

"Tangyuan" is an essential food during the Winter Solstice. "Yuan" means "reunion" and "completeness". Eating glutinous rice balls during the Winter Solstice is also called "Winter Solstice Yuan".

There is a folk saying that "eating glutinous rice balls makes you one year older".

?4. Eat roasted pork and ginger rice? In some places in the south, roasted pork is eaten on the Winter Solstice. On this day, the dried roasted pork becomes an indispensable delicacy on the dining tables of Guangdong and Guangxi, which means adding vegetables to add years to the meal.

On the winter solstice, Wuchuan people have a custom of "eating ginger rice" during the winter solstice.

?5. Eating dumplings In many areas of northern China, there is a custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice every year.

In northern China, dumplings are eaten on this day because dumplings have the meaning of "repelling cold". There is still a folk proverb "If you don't bring dumpling bowls during the winter solstice, your ears will freeze off and no one will care".