Winter Solstice is one of the twenty-four solar terms in my country, commonly known as "Winter Festival", "Changzhi Festival", "Yasui", etc. It is a traditional festival of the Chinese nation. The custom of winter solstice originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and is still used today. "Qing Jia Lu" even said that "the winter solstice is as big as the new year". This shows that the ancients attached great importance to the winter solstice. Because of this, the Winter Solstice food culture is rich and colorful, such as wontons, dumplings, glutinous rice balls, red bean porridge, millet rice cakes, etc., and there are dozens of varieties. After thousands of years of development, a unique seasonal food culture has been formed.

Dog Meat

The custom of eating dog meat during the Winter Solstice is said to have started in the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, ate dog meat cooked by Fan Kuai on the day of the winter solstice. He thought it tasted particularly delicious and was full of praise. Since then, the folk custom of eating dog meat during the winter solstice has been formed. Nowadays, people eat dog meat, mutton and various nutritious foods on the day of the winter solstice in order to have a good omen in the coming year.

Wontons

In the past, there was a saying in old Beijing: "Winter Solstice Wontons and Summer Solstice Noodles". According to legend, during the Han Dynasty, the Huns from the north often harassed the frontiers and the people had no peace. At that time, there were two leaders in the Xiongnu tribe, the Hun clan and the Tun clan, who were very ferocious. The people hated it so much that they used meat fillings to wrap it into wontons and called them "wontons" after taking the sounds of "hun" and "tun". He eats his hatred and hopes to quell the war and live a peaceful life. Because wontons were first made on the winter solstice, every household eats wontons on the winter solstice.

Many places in my country have the custom of eating wontons during the Winter Solstice. According to "Records of the Years of Yanjing": "Winter Solstice Wonton and Summer Solstice Noodles". On the winter solstice, people in the capital eat more wontons. During the Southern Song Dynasty, Lin'an (now Hangzhou) also had the custom of eating wontons every winter solstice. Zhou Mi from the Song Dynasty said that people in Lin'an eat wontons during the winter solstice to pay homage to their ancestors. It was only in the Southern Song Dynasty that the custom of eating wontons to worship ancestors during the Winter Solstice became popular in my country.

Since its development, wonton has become a famous snack with many names, different preparations, delicious flavor, spread all over the country, and deeply loved by people. Wonton has many names. In most places such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it is called wonton, while in Guangdong it is called Yunxiang, in Hubei it is called Baomian, in Jiangxi it is called Qingtang, in Sichuan it is called Chaoshou, in Xinjiang it is called Ququ and so on. There are many specialties in each place. Wontons that are highly praised by diners include the famous ones from Chengdu Long Chaoshou Restaurant, which have a variety of varieties, thin skin, tender texture, and delicious soup; Chongqing's Guoqiao Chaoshou, which is exquisite in wrapping and pinching, has a variety of seasonings, and can be dipped in seasonings. Food; Songyunlou Three Fresh Wontons from the Old Town God’s Temple in Shanghai, with exquisite ingredients, thin wrappers, and delicious color; Ququ from Urumqi, Xinjiang, with mutton as the filling, thin skin and tender fillings, clear and delicious soup, etc.

Pinch Frozen Ears

Eating "Pinch Frozen Ears" is a common name for Henan people eating dumplings during the winter solstice. Why does this food custom exist? It is said that Zhang Zhongjing, the medical sage of Nanyang, once served as an official in Changsha. He retired and returned home during the winter when the snow was falling heavily and the wind was biting. He saw that the villagers on both sides of the Baihe River in Nanyang were not fully clothed, and many people's ears were rotten by the cold. He felt very sad, so he asked his disciples to set up a medical tent in Guandong, Nanyang, and put pots with mutton, chili peppers and some anti-cold medicinal materials. Cook it in a pot, take it out, chop it into pieces, wrap it in dough to look like an ear, put it in a pot and cook it, and make a medicine called "Cold-Expelling Ear-correcting Soup" and given to the people. After taking it, the villagers' ears were cured. Later, during the winter solstice, people would imitate the cooking process and eat it, thus forming the custom of "pinching frozen ears". Later, people called it "dumplings", and some also called it "flat food" and "hot noodle dumplings". People also said that eating dumplings during the Winter Solstice would not freeze anyone.

Red Bean Glutinous Rice

In the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, it is customary for the whole family to gather together and eat red beans and glutinous rice on the night of the winter solstice. According to legend, there was a man named Gong whose son was not successful and committed many evil deeds, and died at the winter solstice. On this day, after death, the plague ghost will continue 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.

Tangyuan

Eating glutinous rice balls during the Winter Solstice is a traditional custom in my country, especially in Jiangnan. There is a folk saying that "eating glutinous rice balls makes you one year older." "Winter Solstice Dumpling". According to records from the Qing Dynasty, people in Jiangnan made dough with glutinous rice flour, stuffed with essence, meat, apples, bean paste, shredded radish, etc. The winter solstice dumpling could be used to worship ancestors and be used as gifts to relatives and friends in old times. The most important thing is to eat glutinous rice dumplings. They taste the newly brewed sweet liquor, flower cakes and glutinous rice flour balls at the family banquet, and then use meat pieces on the plate to worship their ancestors. Winter solstice day. "Tangyuan is also a traditional delicious food in my country. There are many famous glutinous rice dumplings in the north and south. For example, Ningbo glutinous rice balls are thin-skinned, glutinous but not sticky; Changsha sisters glutinous rice balls are white and crystal clear, sweet and delicious; Wenzhou County Qian glutinous rice balls are made with exquisite ingredients and are sweet. In addition, Taiwan’s vegetable and meat glutinous rice balls, Chengdu’s Lai glutinous rice balls, Guiyang’s Babao glutinous rice balls, and Anqing’s Weijiaxiang glutinous rice balls are also delicious foods with unique flavors. You can eat glutinous rice balls.

Wine making

Hakka people believe that the water in the winter solstice has the most mellow taste, and the wine made with it can be stored for a long time, is soft and refreshing, and has a sweet aftertaste. Therefore, it has become a custom for Hakka people to make wine during the Winter Solstice. For this day, Hakka housewives often go to the market to buy wine-making equipment, move the aged wine jars to the stream, and use yellow wine. The fine yellow sand washes away the dirt, and then the cool spring water rinses it repeatedly, and finally it is placed in a cool place to dry.

The new glutinous rice used for brewing has just been harvested. It is carefully selected and air-dried. The grains are full and the essence is the best. After removing the golden shell, pour it into bamboo rafts, rinse it repeatedly with mountain spring water to wash away the dust in the glutinous rice, and then Then pour the washed glutinous rice into the rice steamer, steam it in the pot, then rinse it with spring water, stir the ground wine cake and the glutinous rice evenly, and finally put it into the wine jar to let it ferment. On the day of the winter solstice, clean and cool mountain spring water is officially added, and then it is allowed to brew slowly. The longer the time, the mellower the quality of the wine, and the clearer and brighter the color of the wine, making people fall in love at the first sight and eager to quench their greed.

New Year Cake

Eating New Year Cake From the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China until now, people in Hangzhou like to eat New Year Cake during the winter solstice.

During the winter solstice, we make three meals of rice cakes with different flavors. In the morning, we eat rice cakes with sesame powder mixed with sugar; at noon, we eat fried rice cakes with fried vegetables, winter bamboo shoots, and shredded pork; and for dinner, we eat rice cakes in soup with mustard mustard, shredded pork, and shredded bamboo shoots