In Bai Juyi's poems, the winter solstice has two characteristics: first, the winter solstice is a day of family reunion, and people who are alone in other places will feel lonely; Secondly, on the day of winter solstice, the sun just shines on the tropic of Capricorn, and the nights in the northern hemisphere are the longest and the days are the shortest. The winter solstice is more important in ancient China than in modern times. It is not only an important solar term that can guide people's agricultural production and daily work, but also an important traditional festival. Sacrifice or celebration should be held.
In ancient society, there were countless customs and habits of winter solstice, which were mainly divided into three categories: first, there was a high probability of snowfall around winter solstice, and people would go to the hills by the river to enjoy the snow and climb to the top; The second is eating. The solstice in winter is suitable for tonic. Traditional foods are glutinous rice balls and jiaozi, and beef and mutton are the first choice for tonic. Third, worship, worship ancestors to show their memory, and hope to have a bumper harvest in the coming year. There are differences in customs and habits in different regions. In some areas, cotton-padded clothes will be burned for the dead and cotton shoes will be given to children. So far, only eating jiaozi has been preserved.
For modern people, the practical choice is to enjoy the snow on the roadside and cook jiaozi at home. There is no way to watch snow, cook food and recite classics on the riverside lake like the ancients.
I believe the farmer's proverb: "If the northwest wind blows in winter, the old cow will lose weight in spring", which means that if the northwest wind blows in winter, the old cow will lose weight next spring. The relationship between the winter solstice and the thinning of the old cow is related to two kinds of cognition in agriculture and ancient society.
In traditional cognition, people predict that there may be two things in the northwest wind from winter to day: one is the northwest wind from winter to day, and there will be no snowfall in the whole winter, which will have a slight impact on agricultural production. Next year, there may be a cold spring, and the old cow will naturally become thinner when it is busy; The second is that there will be a northwest wind from winter solstice, and there may be a drought next spring. In dry days, the old cow will keep pulling buckets and watering them, and the old cow will become thinner. The old cow was an important production tool in ancient times. As long as it is agricultural production, it is inseparable from the assistance of old cows, which can greatly reduce human input.
In modern society, agricultural production no longer depends on cattle, and modern mechanical energy meets people's production needs. Modern agricultural science and technology will help China's agriculture take off, even if it is really a northwest wind, don't worry. In the spring drought, tap water will be directly connected to the land for irrigation to ensure sufficient water for growth; If you encounter late spring cold, you can predict in advance and take protective measures. If the wheat grows white, just do a good job of mechanical pressing. In the face of different agricultural production problems, the right medicine can solve the problems and improve the grain yield and quality.
As the saying goes, "the wind is strong in the northwest in winter and thin in spring" is a true portrayal of people in society at that time. At that time, production tools were backward and agriculture depended on the weather for food. In modern agriculture, if all the management work is done well, the probability of grain harvest will increase. With the development of modern agricultural science and technology, cattle, once an important production tool, will withdraw from the historical stage, and its role may be limited to eating meat.