Eating dumplings during the Winter Solstice is a northern custom.

In many areas of northern China, there is a custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice every year. In northern China, dumplings are eaten on this day because dumplings have the meaning of "repelling cold". There is still a folk proverb "If you don't bring dumpling bowls during the winter solstice, your ears will freeze off and no one will care". People in the south eat glutinous rice balls.

Winter Solstice Customs

1. "Painting Nine"

The so-called Painting Nine is actually a picture used to calculate the date of spring after the winter solstice. The Ming Dynasty's "Scenery of the Imperial Capital" records: "On the winter solstice, I painted a plain plum branch with eighty-one petals. When the sun dyes one petal, when all the petals are gone and ninety-nine come out, spring is deep, and it is called the ninety-nine to relieve the cold." The "Nine-Nine Cold-repelling Picture" has three patterns, namely words, circles and plum blossoms.

2. Brewing rice wine

Traditional Gusu people drink winter wine on the night of the winter solstice. Winter wine is brewed with glutinous rice or yellow rice and sweet-scented osmanthus.

3. Eating glutinous rice balls

Eating glutinous rice balls is a traditional custom during the Winter Solstice, especially popular in Jiangnan. "Tangyuan" is an essential food during the Winter Solstice. "Yuan" means "reunion" and "completeness". Eating glutinous rice balls during the Winter Solstice is also called "Winter Solstice Yuan". There is a folk saying that "eating glutinous rice balls makes you one year older".