1, wine brew

Winter solstice night, winter wine, is essential, because the ancient city of Suzhou has a saying: "winter solstice is not drinking winter wine is to freeze all night." This winter wine, brewed only once a year, is a kind of rice wine, brewed with osmanthus flowers. As early as the Tang and Song dynasties, the ancient people's wine was a prototype of rice wine and yellow wine. The osmanthus winter wine of Suzhou in the south of the Yangtze River is the ancient and authentic flavor of wine that has survived to the present day Chinese. The osmanthus winter wine is also known as "San Baijiu", that is, "white glutinous rice soaked in water from a clear spring and brewed with white flour to make yeast".

2, wontons

Ancient people have said that the sky is round, square wonton skin on behalf of the ground, the center of the package of filling is the weather, wrapped together is "heaven and earth are not divided, heaven and earth are blended" of the "chaotic world," the winter solstice, people eat! The winter solstice people eat "wontons", meaning to eat the "chaotic world", but also a peaceful world.

3, brine

Over the winter solstice, in addition to drinking winter wine, Suzhou people another custom is to eat brine. In the past, there was a folk saying that "there is a copper coin grid to eat all night, uh not a copper coin grid frozen all night". Nowadays, of course, there is no freezing overnight, and will not really eat overnight, but buy some ready-made brine home to eat a hearty reunion dinner, or the custom of many Suzhou people. So the brine store in Suzhou, without exception, will be in the winter solstice a day or two before the festival, ushered in the best time of business.

4, winter solstice group

Suzhou people also have "winter solstice group" and other sayings, the winter solstice group is also known as the "rice arena group", in the winter solstice the night before the day, grinding powder for the ball, to the minced meat, vegetables, fruit, bean paste, shredded carrots as a stuffing, rituals and gifts to each other. Nowadays, the custom of eating winter solstice dumplings still exists in the rural areas of Wu Di.

5, mutton

"Winter solstice tonic, spring tiger," is a folk saying widely spread in the Wu. Suzhou people from the winter solstice this day also began to start the big tonic, but also formed the highest peak of the fall food mutton. According to traditional Chinese medicine, mutton and dog meat have the effect of strengthening the yang and tonifying the body. Suzhou people from the winter solstice this day also began to supplement, eat is famous in China and abroad Wuzhong Tibetan book mutton.