The winter solstice is an important solar term in China folk tradition, which is known as "the winter solstice is as big as a year". Eating dumplings is a traditional custom of the winter solstice in China, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. In Jiangnan water town, there is a custom that the whole family get together on the night of the winter solstice to eat red beans and glutinous rice. Traditional Gusu people will drink winter wine on the night of the winter solstice. Winter wine is a kind of rice wine, which is brewed with osmanthus flowers and has a pleasant aroma.
On the winter solstice, people in southern Fujian not only have to worship the heavens and ancestors, but also eat the isothermal food of ginger duck for tonic. There is a tradition of steaming "muffins" on the winter solstice in Foshan. The muffins fermented and steamed with rice flour have many fine holes, which means high rise and great success. Most Cantonese people will "add vegetables" on the winter solstice, and roasted meat has become an indispensable traditional food on the table.
Rebuilding the County Records of Taiwan Province during the Qianlong period: "Winter solstice, making rice balls at home is called' adding years', which is the so-called' Asian years' in ancient times. The door utensils are each glued with a pill, which is called' consumption'. "
During Daoguang period, Luoyuan County Chronicle said: "On the first night of the winter solstice, the rice noodles were smashed like jade crumbs, and when they were young, they were reunited and rubbed into pills. The ancestors who were recommended the next time stuck to the threshold and rounded them to achieve yang."
There is also a place to eat wonton in the south of the winter solstice, and there is a legend about the custom of Suzhou people eating wonton in the winter solstice. According to legend, at a banquet in the Spring and Autumn Period in Wu and Yue Dynasties, the prince of Wu who was tired of eating delicacies lost his appetite, so beauty Xi Shi went into the imperial kitchen and wrapped up a prepared snack for him. The prince of Wu swallowed a large bowl in one breath and repeatedly asked, "What kind of snack is this, so delicious?"
Xi Shi thought, "The muddled monarch can't get away from chaos, so he casually replied," Chaos. " In order to commemorate the wisdom and creation of Xi Shi, Suzhou people designated it as the appropriate food for the Winter Solstice Festival.
The custom of eating wonton on the winter solstice was very popular in the Southern Song Dynasty. People in Lin 'an eat wonton on the winter solstice, which started as a sacrifice to their ancestors and gradually became popular. Up to now, the names of wonton we have seen vary from place to place. Most places such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang are called wonton, while Guangdong is called wonton, Hubei is called noodles, Jiangxi is called clear soup, Sichuan is called wonton, Xinjiang is called Ququ and so on.
In some areas, there is a custom of steaming winter on the winter solstice. It's a paradox to steam steamed corn with whole grain flour. It's said that steaming winter is to pray that there will be wind in the coming year. The folk song says: "Steaming in winter, steaming in winter, there is wind in the field." In ancient times, steaming winter was to celebrate the sun solstice, and after the winter solstice, the sun was born, just as Du Fu wrote in his poem, "The sun is born in the winter solstice and spring comes again."