1. Dumplings Every year on the winter solstice of the lunar calendar, whether rich or poor, dumplings are an essential holiday meal.

A proverb goes: "On October 1st, when the winter solstice arrives, every household eats dumplings." This custom was left in memory of the "Medical Saint" Zhang Zhongjing who gave up medicine during the winter solstice.

A large part of Shandong Province eats wontons or dumplings on this day.

Some people also drink alcohol. It is said that drinking is to warm up the body, and eating dumplings is to avoid freezing their ears. The word "dumpling" is homophonic to "glue ear".

2. Mutton Soup In the area of ??Tengzhou, Shandong Province, the winter solstice is called Shujiu. In order to have a good sign in the coming year, every family will drink mutton soup.

Tengzhou mutton soup has a long history. Lamb bones are put into a large pot to make soup, and then fresh mutton cut into weights and cleaned haggis are put into the soup pot to cook.

After cooking, take it out and drain it, cut it into thin slices and put it into boiling water for a while, then pour it into a soup bowl, pour in the hot white mutton soup, sprinkle with chili oil, pepper noodles, salt, MSG and green chopped green onions.

Wait, a bowl of steaming, fragrant mutton soup is ready.

Tengzhou mutton soup is made separately: mutton, leg meat, mutton head meat, mutton brain, mutton eggs, mutton liver, mutton lungs, mutton whip, mutton blood, etc. are all made separately.

Some even make sheep's ears, sheep's hooves, sheep's ribs, sheep's intestines, etc. separately.

Each has its own flavor and each leads the way.

Mutton soup is generally made using the double-boiled method. The soup is white and meaty, fragrant and delicious.

3. Steaming in winter Linyi, Zoucheng, Xintai and other places have the custom of steaming in winter.

Linyi uses whole grain flour to steam steamed buns, and Zoucheng steams glutinous rice cakes. Legend has it that steaming in winter is to pray for wind in the coming year.

The folk song says: "Steaming in winter makes the wind blow in the air." In ancient times, steaming in winter was to celebrate the solstice of the Yangtze River.

People use glutinous rice flour to make rice balls, called Tuanyuanzi or Winter Solstice Balls, to symbolize reunion.

Pastry and steamed steamed buns are the evolution of Tuanyuanzi.