"The winter solstice is not the jiaozi bowl, and no one cares if the ears are frozen." In northern China, there is a custom of eating jiaozi on the winter solstice. On this day every year, jiaozi is an indispensable holiday meal for the rich and the poor.

It is said that jiaozi existed as early as the Three Kingdoms, but jiaozi at that time was similar to the current wonton. After it was cooked, it was mixed with soup in a bowl, so people at that time called jiaozi "wonton". It was not until after the Tang Dynasty that jiaozi became the same as it is now.

The origin of eating jiaozi on the winter solstice dates back to the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Jiaozi, formerly known as "Jiao Er", is said to have been first invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a medical sage in China. His story of "Quhan Jiaoer Decoction" has spread among the people to this day.

Legend has it that eating jiaozi on the winter solstice originated from Zhang Zhongjing, a medical sage in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is said that in winter, Zhang Zhongjing saw that people's ears were damaged by cold, so he wrapped the cold-keeping medicine into an ear-shaped object and named it "Jiao 'er", which was cooked on the winter solstice to make people eat soup to protect their ears.

2, eat dumplings in the south

There is a poem in ancient times: "Every family beats rice to make glutinous rice balls, knowing that it is the winter solstice of the Ming Dynasty." Eating glutinous rice balls on the winter solstice is a traditional custom in China, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. There is a saying among the people that "eating glutinous rice balls is one year older". Tangyuan can be used to worship ancestors, to give gifts to relatives and friends, and to represent the meaning of reunion.

Eating glutinous rice balls has been established in the Ming and Qing dynasties. On the winter solstice, it is necessary to "make rice balls" or "make glutinous rice balls". These are also officially recorded in historical materials, which are called "Winter Solstice, powdered glutinous rice is a pill, named' Tangyuan'". After making dumplings, you should worship the gods and ancestors, and then eat them around the family, which is called "adding years." Therefore, eating glutinous rice balls on the winter solstice is ancient.

There was a poem in the ancients who ate glutinous rice balls: "Every family smashed rice to make glutinous rice balls, knowing that it was the winter solstice of the Ming Dynasty." Eating glutinous rice balls on the winter solstice is a traditional custom in China, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. There is a saying among the people that "eating glutinous rice balls is one year older". Tangyuan is also called dumplings, and eating dumplings on the winter solstice is also called "winter solstice dumplings"; Tangyuan can be used to worship ancestors or to give gifts to relatives and friends.

Another explanation is that the winter solstice is the longest night in a year. On the winter solstice, before dawn, women get up and make a fire to cook dumplings, first to worship their ancestors, and then the whole family will sit around and eat dumplings. Therefore, eating dumplings on the winter solstice not only means that the sun (sunshine) is gradually coming back, but also means reunion. Modern people prefer to regard it as a symbol of perfection.