1. Wonton

In the past, there was a saying in old Beijing that "winter solstice wonton and summer solstice noodles". According to legend, during the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu in the north often harassed the frontier, and the people were restless. At that time, there were two leaders of Hun tribe and Tun tribe, which were very cruel. The people hated it, so they wrapped it into a corner with meat stuffing and called it "wonton" with the sound of "muddy" and "tun". Hate to eat, and seek to calm the war and live a peaceful life. Because wonton was originally made on the winter solstice, every family eats wonton on the winter solstice.

There is another saying: On the day of the Winter Solstice, there is a grand ceremony on all avenues in the capital. Taoist priest swished scriptures and went to the table to celebrate the birthday of the Buddha at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. According to Taoism, the Buddha at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty symbolizes the first century in which chaos has not been divided and Tao has not been manifested. Therefore, people have the custom of eating wonton. "Yanjing Years Old" says: "The shape of husband's wonton is like a chicken egg, which is quite like the chaos of heaven and earth, so it is eaten on the winter solstice." In fact, "wonton" and "chaos" are homophonic, so people extend eating wonton to break the chaos and open up the world. Later generations no longer explain its original meaning, but spread the proverb of "Winter Solstice Wonton and Summer Solstice Noodles", treating it simply as a seasonal diet.

2. jiaozi

Every year on the Winter Solstice of the Lunar New Year, jiaozi is an indispensable holiday meal for the rich and the poor. As the saying goes, "On October 1st, when the winter solstice comes, every family eats dumplings." This custom was left in memory of Zhang Zhongjing, the "medical sage", who gave up medicine on the winter solstice.

On the basis of selecting all kinds of vegetables in jiaozi during the winter solstice, it is matched with a variety of nutritious foods rich in fat, protein, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other ingredients, which not only supplements the excessive consumption of calories due to cold, but also benefits qi and nourishes blood, especially suitable for the weak.

3. Hotpot

In Beijing and Tianjin in northern China, the custom of eating hot pot after the winter solstice has existed since ancient times. There are many kinds of hot pot, which can be divided into four categories, namely, hotpot, chrysanthemum pot, nourishing pot and assorted pot. The "hotpot" is popular among Mongolians and was invented by Genghis Khan according to research. It is also said that jurchen invented it from Manchu ancestors, and now there is a stone hot pot used by jurchen in Liao and Jin Dynasties.

This method of eating hot pot was introduced to Beijing in the Ming Dynasty, and later prevailed in the Qing Dynasty, because in the Qing Dynasty, most of the princes' fudges were from Mongolia, and it was very popular. Almost every official family in the Qing Dynasty had red copper hot pot and roasted meat.

4. Mutton

Nowadays, people eat mutton and various nourishing foods on the winter solstice in order to have a good omen for the coming year.

Experts remind the public that not everyone can eat mutton. For example, patients with hypertension, diabetes, serious heart disease and coronary heart disease should not eat mutton. Although mutton can nourish the body, eating other meats can also replace it, such as beef, chicken, venison, shrimp, pigeon, quail and sea cucumber. These meats have the functions of tonifying kidney, strengthening yang, warming the middle and warming the lower, invigorating qi and generating blood, thus achieving the effect of keeping out the cold.

In the past, some people said to eat dog meat, but now there are many people who love small animals and don't advocate eating dog meat, and Manchu and other ethnic groups also have taboos against eating dog meat.

5. Red bean porridge

The custom of eating red bean porridge on the winter solstice dates back more than 1,6 years, which is said to prevent plague. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Liang Renzong said in the Chronicle of Jingchu: "* * * Gong's family has a gifted scholar, who died on the winter solstice as a plague and feared adzuki beans, so he made porridge on the winter solstice to cover it."

1g of red beans and 5g of japonica rice, wash them, add a little brown sugar, and cook with water to make porridge. Red bean is called "Valley of the Heart" by Li Shizhen. This porridge has the effects of clearing away heart fire, nourishing the mind, invigorating the spleen and stomach, inducing diuresis to reduce swelling, losing weight and beautifying, and is suitable for symptoms such as upset, spleen edema, dampness of lower limbs, dysuria, loose stool, obesity, and postpartum hypogalactia.