Eating glutinous rice balls

On the day of the Winter Solstice, Wenzhou people have the habit of eating glutinous rice balls or mochi. The elders will take advantage of "Suixi'er" (meaning "child" in Wenzhou dialect) to provide tutoring while eating glutinous rice balls, such as "You will be one year older after eating glutinous rice balls", and advise the children to be more obedient and do everything better than last year. Do better.

Dried glutinous rice balls

Before the "Winter Festival", many people will grind the glutinous rice into powder a few days in advance, mix it with water, and then divide it into small pieces and place them in small pieces. Sun-dry them into glutinous rice balls on a bamboo raft. Put the glutinous rice balls powder into the oil tank after drying. When you want to eat, take out a few pieces and soak them in water before use. Some people will dry a lot of them at once and give them to neighbors and relatives on the eve of the "Winter Festival".

Selling Mochi

Every time before and after the "Winter Festival", there will be some people selling Mochi on burdens in the streets and alleys of Wenzhou Old Town. These people usually come from rural areas in the suburbs. They cook the glutinous rice balls at home and knead them into balls, then bring some sugar and bean paste powder, and sell them all the way, making them as they go. They are highly skilled. When he turns a mochi with his hands, it turns into a mochi ball that is hollow inside and smooth on the outside, like a ping pong ball. Then it is stuffed with sugar and bean paste, which tastes sweet.

Making a festival

In some rural areas in Wenzhou, on the day of the "Winter Festival", every household will set up a banquet to worship their ancestors. Pig heads, chickens, ducks, geese, fish and other things are served on a plate to worship the ancestors. After the worship, the family sits down to eat. This is called "making a festival".

Returning Heaven's Wish

Some people also hold a "Returning Heaven's Wish" ceremony on the winter solstice. If some of the wishes made at the beginning of the year come true, they must be fulfilled on this day. Therefore, when Wenzhou people comment on a person who is lazy and lacks ability in doing things, they will use the word "still wish" to sarcastically say, "How can you still be willing to do things? You have no energy at all."

This "repaying a wish" is also called "a hundred families' wishes", which means that when you return a wish, you have to bring out "a hundred families' rice" to repay it. Baijiami refers to using rice from a hundred families to make it together, which proves that one hundred wishes have been fulfilled. But where does "hundreds of rice" come from? It is said that on the day of the winter solstice, beggars enjoy the most, because only the rice in their hands can be used as "hundreds of rice", so some families spend high prices to buy the beggars' rice. Bought for worship and to fulfill vows.