1. North: Eat dumplings. In northern my country, there is a saying of "winter solstice dumplings and summer solstice noodles". Why do we eat dumplings on the winter solstice?

The original name of dumplings is "Jiao Er". It is said that it was invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a Chinese medical sage. It has a history of more than 1,800 years.

2. Shanxi: Mostly wontons or dumplings. In addition to wontons and dumplings, there are also some places in Shanxi where cakes are eaten, such as oil cakes in Heshun to welcome the new year, millet cakes in Lingshi, and millet cakes in Pinglu.

"It is a custom to dip chicken into vegetarian cake and eat it with mutton soup.

Datong pays attention to eating stewed meat. There is a folk saying that "if you don't eat meat during the winter solstice, your toes will be rotten by freezing."

In the Yangcheng area of ????Southern Shanxi, people eat melon porridge stewed with old pumpkin and millet.

3. Chaoshan area: Worship ancestors and eat sweet pills In Chaoshan area, the winter solstice is also called "Little New Year" and is a big folk festival.

On this day, people should prepare enough pork, chicken, fish and other animals and fruits, go to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors, and then have a meal with their families around the table.

In coastal areas, before fishermen go out to sea to fish, they have to worship their ancestors, pray for the fishermen, and ask gods and ancestors to bless them and return safely from the sea.

There is a saying in Chaoshan that "eating Winter Festival Yuan will make you one year older". Among them, "Winter Festival Yuan" is glutinous rice balls, which are also called sweet balls in Chaoshan area. The custom of eating sweet balls on the winter solstice is almost universal in Chaoshan area.

4. Ningxia: Eat "brain" On the day of the Winter Solstice, Yinchuan has a custom of drinking rice noodle soup and eating dumplings in mutton rice noodle soup.

Yinchuan people also have a special name for mutton noodle soup - "brain".

After the noodle soup dumplings are ready, a bowl is served first, and a bowl is also served to the neighbors.

Mutton powder soup dumplings are uniquely made and taste spicy and delicious. Now they have become a special snack in Yinchuan.

5. Jiangnan Water Town: Eating red beans and glutinous rice. In my country’s Jiangnan Water Town, there is a custom of the whole family gathering together to eat red beans and glutinous rice on the night of the winter solstice.

According to legend, there was a man named Mr. Gong whose son was not successful and committed many evil deeds. He died on the winter solstice. After his death, he turned into a plague ghost and continued to harm the people.

However, this plague ghost is most afraid of red beans, so people cook and eat red bean rice on the winter solstice to ward off plague ghosts and prevent disasters and diseases.