(1) Eat jiaozi on the winter solstice.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Zhongjing used to be the prefect of Changsha, visiting the sick and applying medicine, and practicing medicine in the lobby. Later, he resolutely resigned and returned to his hometown to treat his neighbors. When he returned to his hometown, it was winter. He saw that the villagers on both sides of the Baihe River were sallow and emaciated, hungry and cold, and many people's ears were frozen, so he asked his disciples to set up a medical shed and a cauldron in Dongguan, Nanyang, and give alms to the people on the day of the winter solstice.
He boiled mutton, peppers and some herbs for dispelling cold in a pot, then fished out the mutton and medicines and chopped them, and made them into ear-like "jiao-er" with bread. After cooking, he distributed two "jiao-er" and a big bowl of broth to each person who came to ask for medicine. People ate "Jiao Er" and drank "Quhan Tang", and they were warm all over, with fever in both ears and frostbitten ears cured.
Later generations learned the look of "Jiao Er" and packaged it into food, also called "jiaozi" or "flat food". Eating jiaozi on the winter solstice, is not forgetting the "medical sage" Zhang Zhongjing's "kindness of dispelling cold and charming ear soup". Up to now, there is still a folk song in Nanyang, which says, "The winter solstice misbehaves the jiaozi bowl, and nobody cares if you freeze your ears.".
(2) Eat wonton on the winter solstice.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, Lin 'an (now Hangzhou) also had the custom of eating wonton on the winter solstice. The Song people carefully said that wonton was eaten at first to sacrifice ancestors, and then it gradually became popular. It is said that wonton was created by Xi Shi, so people in Suzhou eat wonton every winter solstice.
Nowadays, there are many ways to make wonton, which is spread all over the country and is a famous snack deeply loved by people. Wonton has many names, such as Wonton in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Wonton in Guangdong, Noodles in Hubei, Clear Soup in Jiangxi, Wonton in Sichuan, Ququ in Xinjiang and so on.