the winter solstice is an important festival of Shanxi folk in November of the lunar calendar, commonly known as the "winter" festival.

during the yin and Zhou dynasties, the day before the winter solstice was defined as the end of the year. The winter solstice festival is essentially equivalent to today's Spring Festival. Later, the summer calendar was implemented. However, the winter solstice has always ranked first among the 24 solar terms, and there is a saying that "the winter solstice is as big as a year", which is called "sub-year". Since the Han Dynasty, celebrations have been held. During the peak period, the imperial court took a three-day vacation, and you did not listen to politics. The people closed the city for three days to celebrate the festival. Its excitement is no less than that of the New Year.

Today's Winter Solstice Festival still retains many historical relics. From the date of the winter solstice, it entered the cold weather for several days. There is a folk custom of painting the "Nine-Nine Cold Relief Map" in various forms.

There is a plum blossom, and 9981 flowers are drawn in plain ink. Dye a petal with a red pen or a black pen every day, and the petals will come out in 99, which is called the 99-99 cold elimination map.

Some of them are horizontal and firm, making a 9981-grid square chart. Apply one grid and nine grids every day, which is called the 99-99 cold elimination table.

Draw a few empty squares, choose a few words, and each word must be a few strokes. Write a stroke every day, and finally become a sentence, such as "looking at the bones of Jin Bai Feng in front of the pavilion and behind the house", which is called the sentence of "99 eliminating cold"

The most elegant thing is to make nine-body couplets. Each couplet has nine characters, and each character has nine pictures, and each couplet is filled in every day. For example, the couplet reads "Spring springs hang down, spring blooms and spring blooms"; The second couplet is called "Autumn Persimmon Hanging in Autumn Courtyard to Send Autumn Fragrance in Autumn", which is called "99 Cold Eliminating and Spring Welcoming".

the specific form of each family often depends on the owner's hobbies and cultural quality. There is still a folk proverb about "Eliminating Cold in 1999": "It's cloudy and sunny, and the left wind is foggy and snowy. The point in the picture is dark, and the grass is outside the door. "

On the Winter Solstice Festival, the folk custom of giving shoes has a very ancient origin. "Notes on Chinese Ancient and Modern Times" said: "There are embroidered mandarin ducks in the Han Dynasty, and Emperor Zhao ordered his aunt to go to the winter solstice." Cao Zhi's "Winter Solstice Offering Socks and Footwear Table" also has a sentence of "Welcome to the sample in the next year, and celebrate when you are long." Later, the custom of giving shoes to aunts and uncles gradually became that aunts and uncles gave shoes and hats to nephews. Mainly reflected in children. In the past, it was mainly hand embroidery. As gifts for men, hats are mostly made in the shape of tigers and dogs, and embroidered shoes are also beasts. For girls, hats are mostly made in the shape of phoenix, and embroidery on shoes is mostly flowers and birds. Nowadays, most of them are purchased from collecting coins, and the form follows the trend of the times. On holidays, adults always like to drop in with their children and boast about the shoes and hats presented by their aunts and uncles.

On the Winter Solstice Festival, boys in northern Shanxi are used to playing gang games. Hold a square stone piece the size of a palm, one side stands up, and the other side throws and hits in order according to the prescribed set of actions. When knocking down the post set by the other side, continue to move on. After the failure, exchange throws with each other. Whoever completes all the procedures first wins. Girls are used to kicking shuttlecock in various forms. People often have to join in the fun and play.

On the Winter Solstice Festival, the old customs should also be led by Xue Dong to host a banquet for teachers. Mr. Wang will lead the students to worship Confucius memorial tablet. Then Xue Dong led the students to worship Mr.. There is a folk saying in Shanxi that "teachers teach on the Winter Solstice Festival", which is the custom of respecting teachers. Up to now, there is still the custom of inviting teachers to dinner on the Winter Solstice Festival. Northwest Shanxi is used to entertaining teachers with stewed mutton, which is full of affection.

In the past, people who worked as domestic helpers used to settle their wages with their employers on the Winter Solstice Festival and prepare to go home. Traditionally, the owner will hold a banquet to entertain the guys and discuss the next year's affairs with each other. Today, some rural self-employed enterprises still keep this custom, and hold banquets and drinks on the Winter Solstice Festival.

On the Winter Solstice Festival, most parts of the province are used to eating jiaozi. It is said that eating jiaozi on the Winter Solstice Festival does not freeze ears. The tradition in mountainous areas is to eat cakes. Prosperous boiled rape root rice soup in southern Shanxi. Some places also eat wonton, which is called "Winter Solstice Wonton Summer Solstice Noodles".