Jiaozi's original name is said to be "Jiao Er", which was first invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a medical saint in China. His story of "Quhan Jiaoer Decoction" is still circulating among the people in China. "beginning of winter misbehaves jiaozi Bowl, and nobody cares if his ears are frozen." beginning of winter means that winter is coming, and when it gets cold, his ears are easily frostbitten. Therefore, it is the most intimate care of his family for their loved ones to eat jiaozi, which looks like his ears.
Why does beginning of winter eat jiaozi? Because jiaozi comes from the saying of "the time of sexual intercourse". New Year's Eve is the turn of the old year and the new year, and beginning of winter is the turn of autumn and winter, so jiaozi, who is "at the time of having children", can't help eating it. Modern people continue this ancient custom. On the day of beginning of winter, all kinds of jiaozi sell like hot cakes.
"Delicious but jiaozi", at the turn of autumn and winter, jiaozi is of course the most indispensable food. In northern areas, especially in Beijing and Tianjin, beginning of winter has the custom of eating jiaozi.
In beginning of winter, where the "Old Tianjinwei" lives in the east of the river and the west of the river, there is a custom of eating pumpkin and jiaozi. Pumpkin, also known as wogua, pumpkin, rice melon and north melon, is a common vegetable in the north. Generally, pumpkin is bought in summer, stored in a hut or window sill. After a long time of saccharification, it is made into dumpling stuffing on the winter solstice. The taste is different from that of Chinese cabbage and pumpkin stuffing in summer. It is also necessary to eat it with vinegar and garlic, which has a special taste.
2. Winter swimming
Interestingly, the way to celebrate beginning of winter has also been innovated. On the days of Harbin and beginning of winter, athletes of Heilongjiang Winter Swimming Association crossed the Songhua River to welcome the arrival of winter in this way.
For winter swimmers, they must have a certain foundation, step by step, and should stick to getting into the water every day and continue to exercise when the weather is warm. In addition, you should choose a place familiar with the waterfront for winter swimming. If you are not familiar with the situation in the water and the shore, don't go into the water easily to avoid accidents. In addition, we should walk together in order to take care of each other.
In fact, both indoor and outdoor sports should be fully prepared. Because, in winter, the density of venues and equipment increases, and the impact on the human body also increases. Moreover, when the weather is cold, the activity of human muscles and joints is reduced, which is inert to some extent. Therefore, it is necessary to make full preparations and exercise step by step.
3. He Dong
He Dong, also known as "worshipping winter", had this custom in the Han Dynasty. Cui Ding's "Four People's Moon Order" in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "On the day of the winter solstice, wine and food are served, and aged person, the monarch's teacher, is greeted as a sunny day." On this day in the Song Dynasty, people changed their new clothes and celebrated exchanges, just like the New Year's Day. In the Qing dynasty, "the solstice was the winter solstice, and the scholar-officials paid homage to their elders and paid tribute to each other." Fine people, men and women, will also be more fresh clothes to pay tribute to each other, which is called winter worship. " (See Gu Lu's Qing Jia Lu, Volume 11).
Since the Republic of China, the traditional customs of He Dong seem to be simplified. However, some activities are gradually fixed, stylized and more universal.
4. Worship ancestors and heaven
In the old days, on this day in beginning of winter, people also held activities to worship ancestors and heaven. Even the busiest farmers should take a day off at home, kill chickens and sheep, prepare seasonal products, and sacrifice their ancestors on the one hand to fulfill their obligations and responsibilities for future generations; On the one hand, sacrifice to heaven, thank God for the good harvest, and pray that God will give good weather to the next year; And the wine and food after the sacrificial ceremony can also make farmers who have worked hard for a year reward themselves.
5. Make up for winter
After beginning of winter, it means that this year's winter has officially arrived. The vegetation withers, the stinger sleeps, and all activities tend to stop. Although there is no such thing as hibernation, there is a folk custom of beginning of winter to make up for winter. In the south, people will eat foods with high calorie, such as chicken, duck and fish, etc., and some will cook them with traditional Chinese medicine to increase the efficacy of medicine tonic. The traditional Chinese medicine is angelica, Ligusticum Chuanxiong, Paeonia lactiflora and Radix Rehmanniae.
It is an old tradition for Suzhou people to go to beginning of winter for tonic food in winter. In the old days in Suzhou, some large families also used red ginseng, longan and walnut meat to cook soup in winter, which had the effect of invigorating qi, promoting blood circulation and helping yang. Usually, every solar term in beginning of winter, Suzhou Chinese Medicine Hospital and some time-honored pharmacies will set up special tonic clinics to torment the citizens and sell winter tonic health products.
According to the memories of some elderly people in Changzhou, there was a custom of making up for winter in the old days. People who worked for a year took advantage of beginning of winter to have a rest and reward their family for their hard work over the past year. There is a proverb that "beginning of winter fills the winter and fills the mouth" is the best metaphor, so every time I go to beginning of winter, the ointment clinics in major hospitals begin to heat up.
Experts remind that winter tonic should be "warm tonic" and not "cold and cool". Not all alkaline foods are suitable for tonic in winter, so you should eat more warm or flat foods. Vegetables such as yam, onion, pumpkin, kohlrabi, auricularia auricula, shepherd's purse, sweet potato, potato, taro and so on. Fruits such as hawthorn, pomegranate, papaya, longan, orange, lemon and so on. Nuts such as chestnuts, almonds and walnuts. Drinks such as coffee, milk, soybean milk, etc.
6. Apprentice
In winter, many villages hold teacher worship activities, which is the season for students to visit their teachers. After the winter, the school directors (school administrators) of urban and rural schools take their parents and students, put four dishes, a pot of wine and a glass on the top of the plate, and go to the school with fruits and snacks to express their condolences to the teachers, which is called "learning from the teacher".
Some teachers' families, on beginning of winter or the Winter Solstice, hold a banquet for students who come to visit their teachers as if it were an important event. Hang a statue of Confucius in the court room and write "Great Confucius, the most holy teacher". Students in front of the statue of Confucius, crisp worship, saying: "Confucius, Confucius, Confucius! Confucius did not have Confucius before, and Confucius will be like Confucius in the future! " Then the students greet the teacher. After the ceremony, the students do some housework in the teacher's home separately.
7. Winter studies
Winter night is the longest, and it is also the slack season, so it is the best time to hold "winter school" in this season. Informal education in winter school has various properties: for example, "literacy classes" recruit adult men and women with the aim of literacy; The "training class" recruits people with certain expertise, conducts professional knowledge training and cultivates talents; "General classes" mainly improve culture and popularize scientific and technological knowledge. The school site of winter school is mostly located in temples or public houses. Teachers mainly hire people from their own village or other villages to undertake it, and pay them appropriately.