The winter solstice is one of the four seasons and eight festivals, which is regarded as a big holiday in winter. In ancient times, there was a saying that the winter solstice was as big as a year. The custom of winter solstice is different in content or detail because of different regions. In southern China, there is the custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors and feasting on the winter solstice. In the northern part of China, it is a custom to eat jiaozi every winter solstice.
The winter solstice is the 22nd solar term of the "twenty-four solar terms", with the solar meridian reaching 270 degrees, and it is celebrated every year on Gregorian calendar1February 2 1-23. The winter solstice is the extreme point where the direct sunlight travels southward. On the winter solstice, the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Capricorn, and the sun is most inclined to the northern hemisphere, and the solar altitude angle is the smallest. It is the shortest day and the longest night in all parts of the northern hemisphere.
Introduction of winter solstice
The winter solstice is also the turning point of the sun's direct point of return to the north. After this day, the sun's direct point will go back. The sun's direct point will start to move northward from the Tropic of Capricorn (23 26' s), and the daylight in the northern hemisphere (China is located in the northern hemisphere) will increase day by day. On the winter solstice, although the sun is low and the day is short, the temperature of the winter solstice is not the lowest in meteorology.
In fact, because there is still "accumulated heat" on the surface, it is usually not very cold before the winter solstice, and the real cold is after the winter solstice. Because of the great difference in climate in different parts of China, this climatic winter is obviously late for most parts of China. The winter solstice marks the beginning of the cold season, and the people begin to count nine to calculate the cold days.