Is the solstice in winter Human Day or Ghost Day?

The solstice in winter is not Halloween.

The winter solstice is a very important solar term, and it is also a traditional festival in China's lunar calendar. Up to now, there are still many places where the winter solstice festival is held. The winter solstice is commonly known as "Winter Festival", "Dragon Solstice Festival" and "Asian New Year Festival". As early as 2500 years ago, during the Spring and Autumn Period, China had determined the winter solstice by observing the sun through the soil return, which was the earliest of the 24 solar terms. The time is between February 22nd and 23rd of Gregorian calendar 12.

The winter solstice is the year with the shortest day and the longest night in the northern hemisphere. After the solstice in winter, the days will get longer day by day. The ancients said this about the winter solstice: As soon as the cathode arrived, the yang began to grow, the sun went south, the day was short and the shadow was long, so it was called "the winter solstice". After the winter solstice, the climate everywhere has entered the coldest stage, which is often called "entering the ninth". In China, there is a folk saying that "it's cold in March, and it's dog days".

According to modern astronomical science, the sun shines directly on the tropic of Capricorn from the winter solstice, and the sun is most inclined to the northern hemisphere. The northern hemisphere has the shortest day and the longest night. After this day, the sun gradually moved to the north.

In ancient China, people attached great importance to the winter solstice and thought it was a grand festival. There is a saying that the winter solstice is as big as a year, and there is a custom to celebrate it. "Han Shu" said: "The sun shines on the winter solstice, and you are long, so congratulations." People think that after the winter solstice, the days become longer and longer and the sun rises. This is the beginning of a solar cycle and an auspicious day, which should be celebrated. The Book of Jin records: "On the winter solstice of Wei and Jin Dynasties, people from all over the world celebrated ... its appearance was not as good as that of Zheng Dan." Explain the ancient emphasis on the winter solstice.

Now, some places still celebrate the winter solstice as a festival. The northern region has the custom of slaughtering sheep and eating jiaozi and wonton from winter solstice, while the southern region has the custom of eating glutinous rice balls and long noodles from winter solstice on this day. There is also the custom of offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors in winter solstice in various regions.

The Winter Solstice Festival originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has been passed down to this day. Lu even said that the winter solstice is as big as a year. This shows that the ancients attached great importance to the winter solstice. People think that the winter solstice is a natural transformation of yin and yang and a blessing from heaven. In the Han Dynasty, the winter solstice was the "Winter Festival", and the government held a congratulatory ceremony called "He Dong", which was a routine festival. There is such a record in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty: "Before and after the winter solstice, a gentleman was prepared for danger in times of peace, refused to listen to politics, and chose an auspicious day to save trouble." So on this day, the imperial court had a holiday, the army was on standby, the frontier fortress was closed, the business trip was closed, relatives and friends sent meals to each other, visited each other, and had a "quiet" holiday happily.

In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the solstice in winter was the day of ancestor worship. On this day, the emperor went to the suburbs to hold a ceremony to worship heaven. On this day, people must worship their parents. There are still some places to celebrate the winter solstice.

One of the winter solstice legends

There used to be a saying in old Beijing that "winter solstice wonton, 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, Xiongnu 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 "swallowing". I hate eating, and I want to quell the war and live a peaceful life. Because wonton was originally made on the winter solstice, every family eats wonton on the winter solstice.

Eating "frozen ears" is a common name for Henan people to eat jiaozi from the winter solstice. Why is there such a diet custom? According to legend, Zhang Zhongjing, a doctor from Nanyang, was an official in Changsha. When he retired in his later years, it was a snowy winter and the wind was biting. He was very sad when he saw the villagers on both sides of the Baihe River in Nanyang dressed in rags, and many people's ears were frozen rotten. He asked his disciples to set up a medicine shed in Guandong, Nanyang, and put mutton, peppers and some cold-dispelling herbs in a pot, fished them out and chopped them up, imaged their ears with leather bags, and then put them down in the pot to make a medicine called "cold-dispelling and ear-correcting soup" for the people. After eating it, the villagers' ears will be fine. Later, on the solstice of winter, people imitated and cooked, thus forming the custom of "pinching ears". Later, people called it "jiaozi", while others called it "flat food" and "instant noodle jiaozi". It is also said that people will not be frozen in jiaozi after eating the winter solstice.

The legend of winter solstice 2

It is said that the custom of eating dog meat on the solstice began in the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty, ate dog meat cooked by Fan Kuai on the solstice in winter, which was particularly delicious and full of praise. Since then, the custom of eating dog meat from winter solstice has been formed among the people. Nowadays, people eat dog meat, mutton and all kinds of nutritious food on the solstice of winter, which is a good sign for the coming year.

The legend of winter solstice 3

In Jiangnan water town, there is a custom that the whole family get together to eat red beans and glutinous rice in the evening from winter to Sunday. According to legend, there was a man named Gong. His son was incompetent and evil. He died on the Winter Solstice. Become a plague ghost after death and continue to harm the people. However, this epidemic ghost is most afraid of red beans, so people cook red bean rice from winter solstice to drive away the epidemic ghost and prevent diseases.

The custom of winter solstice

After thousands of years of development, a unique seasonal diet culture has been formed from winter solstice to Sunday. Such as wonton, jiaozi, glutinous rice balls, red bean porridge, millet and rice cakes. Can be used as new year's goods. The once popular "Winter Solstice Day Annual Banquet" has many names, such as eating winter solstice meat, offering winter solstice dishes, offering winter solstice groups, and worshiping winter with wonton.

There is a custom of eating wonton on the solstice in winter. As early as the Southern Song Dynasty, people in Lin 'an ate wonton on the solstice in winter. At first, it was to worship ancestors, and then it gradually became popular. There is a folk saying that "there are wonton on the solstice in winter and noodles on the solstice in summer". Today, wonton has become a famous snack with many kinds, different productions and delicious taste all over the country, which is deeply loved by people. Wonton has many names, such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang Wonton, Guangdong Wonton, Hubei Noodle, Jiangxi Clear Soup, Sichuan Wonton, Xinjiang Ququ and so on.

Eating jiaozi is also a traditional custom from winter solstice, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. "Tangyuan" is an essential food from winter solstice, and it is a round dessert made of glutinous rice flour. "Round" means "reunion" and "perfection". Eating glutinous rice balls on the winter solstice is also called "the winter solstice group". There is a folk saying that "eating glutinous rice balls is one year older". The winter solstice group can be used to worship ancestors or give gifts to relatives and friends. In the past, Shanghainese were most particular about eating jiaozi. An ancient poem said, "Every family beats rice to make glutinous rice balls, knowing that it is the winter solstice of the Ming Dynasty."

In many places in the north, there is a custom of eating dog meat and mutton from winter to Sunday, because the weather enters the coldest period from winter to the future. Chinese medicine believes that mutton and dog meat have the functions of aphrodisiac and tonic, and there is still a folk custom of tonic in winter to day.

In Taiwan Province Province, China, the tradition of offering nine-layer cakes to ancestors from winter to the sun is still preserved. Glutinous rice flour is used to knead animals such as chickens, ducks, turtles, pigs, cattle and sheep. , a symbol of good luck, and then put it in a steamer and steam it layer by layer to worship the ancestors to show that they don't forget their ancestors. In the early days of the winter solstice or before and after the agreement, people with the same surname and clan gather in the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors one by one in the order of generations. After the ceremony, there will be a grand banquet for the people who come to worship their ancestors. Everyone drinks heartily and meets again after a long separation, which is called "food ancestor". The ancestors of the winter solstice festival are handed down from generation to generation in Taiwan Province to show that they have never forgotten their roots.

Winter solstice is a rich festival. It is said that New Year's Day was the winter from the Japanese to the Zhou Dynasty in history, which used to be a very lively day. In today's Jiangnan area, there is another saying that eating winter makes you one year older, commonly known as "adding years"

The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Orchid Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, commonly known as Ghost Festival and Shigu. The meaning of the Central Plains is derived from the Lantern Festival. In ancient times, the first full moon in the first month was called Shangyuan (so the Lantern Festival was also called Shangyuan Festival), and July was a year. The first full moon in July was called Zhongyuan, because it was the name of the festival.

Zhongyuan Festival, also known as Kasahara Festival, was originally a Buddhist ceremony in India. Buddhists held Kasahara Festival to commend their ancestors. The Orchid Sutra in Buddhist scriptures aims at cultivating filial piety and inspiring Buddhist disciples, which is in line with the belief of pursuing the first and mourning for distant places in our country, so it is becoming more and more popular.

There is a saying among the people that "eyes connect to save the mother": "People who have eyes connect to monks have great strength. His mother fell into the hungry ghost road, and the food mouth turned into flames. Hunger was too bitter. Unable to save his mother, Mu Lian asked the Buddha for advice. In order to talk about the Lanpen Sutra, she taught July 15th to make a Lanpen to save her mother. "

China followed this practice from the Liang Dynasty, and it is said that it became the Mid-Autumn Festival. But later, in addition to setting a fast for monks, activities such as repentance and setting fire to burners were added. On this day, the master platform and the stone drum platform were set up in front of Jiekou Village in advance. There is a bodhisattva in front of the mage's seat, and the earth treasure king passes through the underworld. Here is a dish of peach rice. Shigu stood on the stage, holding three spiritual cards and evocative complex items in his hand. After noon, families put whole pigs, whole sheep, chickens, ducks and geese and various cakes, fruits and melons on the stone drum stage. The person in charge inserted a triangular paper flag of blue, red and green on each sacrifice, and wrote the words "Yulan Festival" and "Manna Gate Open". The ceremony began with solemn temple music. Then the mage rang the bell and led the monks in the seat to recite various spells and mantras. Then feed, sprinkle a plate of peaches and rice in all directions and repeat three times. This ceremony is called "the opening of the flame".

At night, every household should burn incense at home and plant incense on the ground. The more, the better, symbolizing a bumper harvest. This is the so-called "field expansion". In some places, there are water lanterns. The so-called water lamp, tied to a small wooden board, is mostly made of colored paper in the shape of lotus, which is called "flood and drought lamp". According to tradition, water lanterns are used to guide those who are unjust and dead. When the lights went out, the water lights had completed the task of attracting ghosts to cross the Naihe Bridge.

The shops were closed that day and the streets were haunted. In the middle of the street, there is an incense table every hundred steps. There are fresh fruits and a kind of "ghost steamed stuffed bun" on the incense table. There is a Taoist behind the desk singing a ghost song that people can't understand. This ceremony is called "singing".

Shangyuan Festival is the Lantern Festival on earth, and people decorate lanterns to celebrate it. "Central Plains" comes from Shangyuan. People think that Mid-Autumn Festival is a ghost festival, and people should light lamps to celebrate the festival for ghosts. But people and ghosts are different, so a lantern in the Central Plains is different from a lantern in Shangyuan. People are yang, ghosts are yin; The earth is yang and the water is yin. The mysterious darkness underwater reminds people of the legendary hell and the place where ghosts sink. So Shangyuan lanterns are on land and Zhongyuan lanterns are in water.