Eating glutinous rice balls was established in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. On the solstice of winter, it is necessary to "make dumplings" or "make dumplings". These are also officially recorded in historical materials. The history says that "on the winter solstice, powdered glutinous rice is a pill, which is called' glutinous rice balls'". After jiaozi is wrapped up, it is necessary to offer sacrifices to the gods and ancestors, and then the whole family will eat around. This is called "adding years".

Another explanation is that the winter solstice is the longest night in a year. On the solstice of winter, before dawn, women get up and make a fire to cook jiaozi. First, they worship their ancestors, and then the whole family sit around and eat jiaozi. Therefore, eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter means not only the gradual return of the sun, but also reunion. Modern people prefer to regard it as a symbol of perfection.

Extended data:

There are different customs in winter solstice in the north and south of China, and through historical development, a unique seasonal food culture has been formed.

In Ningbo, sweet potato soup is one of the must-eat foods in winter solstice. "Fan" and "Fan" are homophones. In Ningbo people's understanding, eating sweet potatoes on the solstice in winter means "turning over" all the bad luck of the past year. Tang Guo is similar to jiaozi, much smaller and without stuffing. Tang Guo is also called jiaozi, which means "reunion" and "perfection".

People in Taizhou, Zhejiang like food, and winter solstice is an important solar term in a year. To make some special dishes and food on this day, we should first pay homage to our ancestors and pray that they will bless the whole family with peace and happiness in the new year. Then the family happily get together to drink and eat vegetables.

Among them, eating "winter solstice yen" (also called hard round and rough round) is an old tradition in Taizhou, which means round, smooth and reunion. Rounding is the highlight of the winter solstice, and "round" means "reunion" and "perfection". Compared with jiaozi, the winter solstice in Linhai is not only rich in content, but also meaningful.