The origin of winter solstice
The winter solstice festival originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties. It is the most important of the 24 solar terms in China. There is a saying in "Ting Anne Lu" that "Winter celebrates the New Year", which shows that the ancients attached importance to winter. The ancients believed that the winter solstice was a natural transformation of Yin and Yang and a blessing from God. In the Han Dynasty, the winter solstice was called "Winter Festival", and the government held a congratulatory ceremony on this day, which was called "Winter Festival", and it was necessary to have a holiday. This may be the earliest legal holiday in China.
The Book of the Later Han Dynasty records: "Before and after the Winter Solstice, gentlemen lived quietly, and hundreds of officials refused to govern, choosing good luck and saving trouble." This shows that on the solstice of winter, the imperial court will have a holiday for everyone, the army will be on standby at any time, the frontier fortress will be closed, business travel will stop, relatives and friends will visit each other and distribute food, and the whole country will have a pleasant holiday. Until now, some places still congratulate relatives and friends on the solstice of winter.
In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the solstice in winter became the day of ancestor worship. On this day, the emperor will hold a ceremony to worship heaven, and the people will worship their parents and elders.
Legends and customs about the winter solstice
Eat jiaozi on the solstice in winter.
Eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter is a custom in northern China. It is said that one winter, the wind was biting and there was heavy snow. In a word, the weather is very cold. People's ears are sore with cold, and some people even have rotten ears with cold. One day, Bian Que came to the countryside to see a doctor for the common people, and it was uncomfortable to see such a scene. He boiled mutton and pepper with some Chinese herbal medicines to drive away the cold. After cooking, he fished out the mutton and chopped it up, and made it into an ear-shaped "corrective ear" for people to eat.
People eat rice that corrects their ears and drink Quhan soup. They feel warm all over and their ears are hot, and their frozen ears will heal in a few days. Therefore, every household is very grateful to Bian Que. In memory of Bian Que, jiaozi is eaten every winter.
There is also a saying that when Zhang Zhongjing retired in his later years, it was snowing in winter. He saw that people in Nanyang were naked, and many people's ears were frozen rotten. He was very uncomfortable, so he asked his disciples to set up a medical shed in Guandong, Nanyang, and made a soup for dispelling cold and correcting ears for the people to eat. After eating jiaozi, people's frostbitten ears quickly recovered, which led to the custom of eating jiaozi in winter solstice. Besides, in our hometown, there is a proverb called "Bad winter solstice". At the same time, eating jiaozi in winter solstice is to wish yourself a smooth and healthy winter to welcome the new year.
There is also a legend about eating jiaozi on the winter solstice. It is said that when Pangu created the world, there was a snakehead Nuwa. At that time, it seemed that she was the only one in the world, perhaps because she was bored. He began to pinch the little people with yellow mud, pinched one and ran away, pinched the other and ran away. After seeing it, Nu Wa thought it was quite fun, so she pinched it day and night, and soon crowded out many little people to play with it. Nu Wa is very happy.
However, in winter, Nu Wa found that these people's ears were always frozen, so she dug a hole in the villain's ear, put a rope through the hole, tied one end and let the villain bite the other end, so that the villain's ears would never be frozen again, which gradually evolved into the custom of eating jiaozi in winter solstice.
Eat glutinous rice balls on the solstice in winter.
On the solstice of winter, if eating jiaozi is very popular in the north, it is even more popular in the south.
Tangyuan is the most common winter food in southern China, and it has many beautiful blessings. "Round" means reunion and happiness. Eating dumplings in winter solstice is also called "winter solstice group".
The ancients said: "Every family beats rice to make glutinous rice balls, which shows that it is the winter solstice of the Ming Dynasty." Generally speaking, this means that when every family starts making glutinous rice balls, they know that the solstice of winter is coming.
In addition, there is a folk saying that eating glutinous rice balls from winter solstice means living one more year.
"When the winter solstice begins in the sun, it is a round rice, which is as round as the sun." It is said that the origin of the winter solstice festival is also related to the custom of "welcoming the sun" and influenced by the idea of "the sun is like a circle", so there is a custom of eating round food in winter solstice.
Eat barbecue and ginger rice
In Chaoshan area, there is a folk proverb "Dongwan Festival, celebrate the New Year as soon as you eat", which is also called "adding new year". Eating barbecue means coming to lucky strike next year. Eating ginger and rice is the season. Winter solstice needs to keep out the cold and is suitable for tonic. Winter solstice is suitable for cooking bacon and ginger rice. In winter solstice, Cantonese also have the custom of "adding vegetables" to eat meat from winter solstice.
Winter solstice is a traditional festival in China, commonly known as Winter Festival, Long Festival, Asian New Year and so on. As early as 2500 years ago in the Spring and Autumn Period, China used Tugui to observe the sun and determined the earliest winter solstice among the 24 solar terms, which reflected the wisdom of the ancient people in China.