winter solstice northern traditional cuisine

mutton

Chinese medicine pays attention to "four seasons and five supplements", among which "nourishing" in winter has become the most popular tonic method at present. From the beginning of the winter solstice, the people began to "count nine" from this day, just as the saying goes, "three nine make up one winter, and there will be no illness in the coming year." In northern China, there is a custom of eating mutton on the winter solstice, because the weather enters the coldest period after the winter solstice, and eating a pot of stewed mutton at this time has the dual effects of keeping out the cold and nourishing.

mutton is sweet but not greasy, warm but not dry, and has always been regarded as a good product for nourishing yang. Eating properly in winter is the best recipe for tonic. For ordinary people, eating mutton is naturally listed as one of the main ways to make up for the cold in winter.

jiaozi

In northern China, there is a custom of eating jiaozi on the winter solstice. The choice of stuffing for winter solstice dumplings is directly related to its implication, and the most common leek stuffing indicates the meaning of "long wealth". The most common Chinese cabbage stuffing means "hundred treasures". Jiaozi with mushroom meat stuffing means "drum wealth"; Sauerkraut stuffing means "counting money"; Celery stuffing stands for "diligent food" and has auspicious meanings.

The origin of eating jiaozi on the winter solstice is said to be that Zhang Zhongjing, a famous doctor in ancient Henan Province, set up a medical shed in the open space of Dongguan, Nanyang on the winter solstice because he remembered that villagers' ears were cold in winter, and gave the poor people "soup for dispelling cold and charming ears" ("charming ears" is now jiaozi), so that people only felt warm and their ears were hot after eating it. In memory of him, the folk people passed on the custom of eating jiaozi on the winter solstice to this day.

dog meat

It is said that the custom of eating dog meat on the winter solstice began in the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu, ate dog meat cooked by Fan Kuai on the winter solstice, which made him feel particularly delicious and full of praise. Since then, the custom of eating dog meat on the winter solstice has been formed among the people. Nowadays, people eat dog meat, mutton and various nourishing foods on the winter solstice in order to have a good omen for the coming year. Tofu stew with dog meat, in particular, is one of the so-called "eight stews in Northeast China".

wonton

northerners have the custom of eating wonton on the winter solstice. As early as the Southern Song Dynasty, people in Lin 'an ate wonton on the winter solstice. At first, it was to worship their ancestors, and then it gradually became popular. There was a saying among the people that "wonton on the winter solstice is noodles on the summer solstice". Eating wonton on the winter solstice hoped to break the "chaos" and become smart. When people make wonton eaten on the winter solstice, they often add seasonings such as ginger, salt and monosodium glutamate to the stuffing, so that the prepared wonton stuffing is fragrant but not greasy and very delicious.

traditional food in the south during the winter solstice

eat Ciba

According to the tradition in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Ciba will be held during the winter solstice, and many people participate in it, which is very grand. In Yunnan, there is also the custom of eating Ciba on the winter solstice. And whenever ancestor worship or major festivals, or weddings and funerals, we should make Ciba. Therefore, in our hometown, Ciba is called "Da Ci", and now the common dumplings are called "Xiao Ci" with some disdain.

Eating sweet pills

According to legend, there was a custom of "drinking wine and dishes, and paying tribute to aged person" on the winter solstice in Han Dynasty. Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, it has been popular to eat sweet pills. Sweet pill is not only a sweet soup made of glutinous rice flour and water-rubbed pills, but also the most representative food on the winter solstice. Before the winter solstice, farmers' housewives made glutinous rice flour in succession (nowadays, it is mostly rolled mechanically), and some exchanged needed goods as gifts for relatives and friends.

Eating glutinous rice balls

Eating glutinous rice balls has been established in the Ming and Qing dynasties. On the winter solstice, it is necessary to "make rice balls" or "make glutinous rice balls". These are also officially recorded in historical materials, which are called "Winter Solstice, powdered glutinous rice is a pill, named' Tangyuan'". After making dumplings, you should worship the gods and ancestors, and then eat them around the family, which is called "adding years." Therefore, eating glutinous rice balls on the winter solstice is ancient.

introduction of solar terms on the winter solstice

the winter solstice is the shortest and the night is the longest. After the winter solstice, the sun slowly shifted to the Tropic of Cancer, and Taiwan Province also approached spring from winter, and the days in the northern hemisphere gradually lengthened, while the nights gradually shortened. Therefore, there was a saying in ancient times that "the winter solstice is a sun-set", which means that the sun's spirit gradually picked up from the winter solstice. After the winter solstice, the climate in all places has entered a coldest stage, which is often called "entering the ninth year". In China, there is a folk saying that "the cold is in the third nine years and the heat is in the dog days".

the winter solstice is a very important solar term and a traditional festival in the Chinese lunar calendar, and there are still many places where the custom of the winter solstice festival exists. The winter solstice is commonly known as "winter festival", "long solstice festival" and "sub-year-old". As early as the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2,5 years ago, our country had determined the winter solstice by observing the sun with Tugui, which was the earliest one of the 24 solar terms. The time is between December 22 and 23 of the Gregorian calendar every year.

People sometimes predict the future weather based on the weather quality and the arrival sequence of the winter solstice. As the saying goes: "the winter solstice is at the beginning of the month, and it should be cold at the end of the year;" The winter solstice is at the end of the month, and it should be cold in the first month; The winter solstice is in the middle of the month, and there is no snow or frost "(this is based on the arrival of the winter solstice, and it is speculated that the cold current will arrive in Taiwan Province sooner or later).

As the saying goes, "The winter solstice is dark, and the New Year is sparse; The winter solstice is sparse, and the New Year is dark "(meaning: if there is no sun on the winter solstice, it will be sunny in the New Year, on the contrary, if the winter solstice is sunny, it will rain in the New Year).

Now, some places still celebrate the winter solstice as a festival. The northern region has the custom of slaughtering sheep in the winter solstice, eating jiaozi and wonton, while the southern region has the habit of eating glutinous rice balls and long noodles in the winter solstice on this day.