The winter solstice festival originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and is still used today.

"Qing Jia Lu" even said that "the winter solstice is as big as the New Year".

This shows that the ancients attached great importance to the winter solstice.

People believe that the winter solstice is the natural transformation of yin and yang and a blessing from God.

In the Han Dynasty, the winter solstice was regarded as the "Winter Festival", and the government would hold a congratulatory ceremony called "Winter Congratulations" and have a routine holiday.

There is such a record in "Book of the Later Han Dynasty": "Before and after the winter solstice, a gentleman settles down, keeps all officials in charge, does not listen to the government, and chooses auspicious times to save trouble." Therefore, on this day, the court has a holiday and rest, the army is on standby, the border fortress is in retreat, and the business travel is closed.

, relatives and friends each give each other delicious food, visit each other, and happily spend a "settle and quiet" festival.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Winter Solstice was a day for worshiping heaven and ancestors. On this day, the emperor would go to the countryside to hold a ceremony to worship heaven, and people would worship their parents and elders on this day. Nowadays, some places still celebrate the winter solstice.

One of the legends of the Winter Solstice: In the past, there was a saying in old Beijing that "Winter Solstice Wonton and Summer Solstice Noodles" were used.

According to legend, during the Han Dynasty, the Huns from the north often harassed the frontiers and the people had no peace.

At that time, there were two leaders in the Xiongnu tribe, the Hun clan and the Tun clan, who were very ferocious.

The people hated it so much that they used meat fillings to wrap it into wontons and called them "wontons" after taking the sounds of "hun" and "tun".

He eats his hatred and hopes to quell the war and live a peaceful life.

Because wontons were first made on the winter solstice, every household eats wontons on the winter solstice.

Eating "Pinched Frozen Ears" is a common name for Henan people to eat dumplings during the winter solstice.

Why is there such a food custom?

It is said that Zhang Zhongjing, the medical sage of Nanyang, once served as an official in Changsha. When he retired and returned to his hometown, it was a snowy winter with biting cold wind.

He saw that the villagers on both sides of the Baihe River in Nanyang were not fully clothed, and many people's ears were rotten by the cold. He felt very sad, so he asked his disciples to set up a medical tent in Guandong, Nanyang, and put pots with mutton, chili peppers and some anti-cold medicinal materials.

Cook it in a pot, take it out, chop it into pieces, wrap it in dough to look like ears, put it in a pot and cook it, and make a medicine called "Cold-Expelling Ear-correcting Soup" and given to the people.

After taking it, the villagers' ears were cured.

Later, during the winter solstice, people would imitate the cooking and eating, thus forming the custom of "pinching frozen ears".

Later people called it "dumplings", and some also called it "flat food" and "hot noodle dumplings". People also said that eating dumplings during the Winter Solstice would not freeze people. Winter Solstice Legend 2 The custom of eating dog meat during the Winter Solstice is said to have started in the Han Dynasty

According to legend, Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, ate the dog meat cooked by Fan Kuai and praised it for its delicious taste. Since then, the custom of eating dog meat during the Winter Solstice has been formed among the people.

Mutton and various nutritious foods, in order to have a good omen in the coming year. The third legend of the winter solstice In the water towns of Jiangnan, there is a custom of the whole family gathering together to eat red beans and glutinous rice on the night of the winter solstice. According to legend, there is a man named Jianggong.

His son, who was not successful and committed many evil deeds, died on the Winter Solstice. After his death, he turned into a plague ghost and continued to harm the people. However, this plague ghost was most afraid of red beans, so people cooked and ate red bean rice on the Winter Solstice.

It is used to ward off epidemic ghosts, prevent disasters and eliminate diseases. One hundred and five days after the winter solstice, it is called cold food. In the past, fire and cold food were forbidden on this day, so it is also called "cold festival" and "no smoking festival". According to folklore, cold food is to commemorate this.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, Jie Zitui was burned in Mianshan, and Duke Wen of Jin ordered a ban on fire. Therefore, the custom of eating cold food first became popular in Shanxi. The next day, there was a ceremony of drilling wood to make new fires in the palace.

Folks also use wicker sticks to beg each other for new fires. The fifteen days after the Spring Equinox are the Qingming Festival, which is a good day for outings.

July 15th and October 1st are collectively called the "Sanming Festival", and there is a ceremony for the city god to go out on patrol. Hanshi and Qingming are originally two festivals, but most people in Shandong combine the two festivals into one, and in a few areas they are called Qingming.

It is called the Cold Food Festival, but the festival is celebrated on the day of Qingming. Starting from the three days before Qingming Festival, it is called "Big Cold Food", "Two Cold Foods" and "Three Cold Foods". The fourth day is Qingming, and people celebrate it here.

Tomb-sweeping and outings are held within four days. The day before Qingming Festival in Juancheng is regarded as the Cold Food Festival, also known as the "Ghost Gate Festival". In the old days, the tomb-sweeping ceremony in Tai'an was more grand.

They bring small dishes and dumplings to their ancestors' graves, and then they burn incense and paper and sprinkle wine to pay homage. It is said that when sweeping the tombs in Zhaoyuan, Jimo, Linqu, and Linqing, they also add new soil to the tombs.

In order to prevent the house from leaking due to heavy rain in summer, it is essentially to commemorate the ancestors. In most areas, the tombs are swept on the Qingming day. In a few areas (such as Zhucheng), the tombs are swept on the Hanshi day, while in Longkou, Boxing and other places, they sweep the tombs on the first four days of the Qingming day.

Tomb-sweeping is usually done on Qingming Festival. It is said that willows and pine branches are planted in every house in Tai'an to commemorate Jie Zitui. There is a folk saying: "If you don't put willows in Qingming Festival, you will die."

A yellow dog.

Jimo is accustomed to wearing pine branches, which means to be as prosperous as pines and cypresses. Linyi and Zhucheng use willow sticks and pine branches to gently beat on the walls and other places. While beating, he said: "On the Qingming Festival every year, willows will fight against green scorpions alone, and they are not allowed to fight during the day."

If you pass in front of the door, you are not allowed to sting anyone at night.

" Qingming Festival outing is very common in Shandong. Children in Linqu and Tengzhou go out to the village early in the morning to go out and fly kites.