What is the origin of the winter solstice?

0 1 As early as 2,500 years ago in the Spring and Autumn Period, China observed the sun with earth return, and determined the winter solstice, which is also a traditional festival of the Chinese nation. People attach great importance to this day. The winter solstice is the earliest of the 24 solar terms in China. The winter solstice is commonly known as "Winter Festival", "Dragon Solstice Festival" and "Child Year".

Winter solstice (English: Winter solstice), also known as "Winter Festival" and "Happy Winter", is one of the 24 solar terms in China and one of the eight astronomical solar terms, as opposed to summer solstice. The winter solstice begins when the sun reaches 270 degrees of the yellow meridian, which is about 65438+February 22 of the Gregorian calendar every year. The winter solstice is the earliest of the 24 solar terms. On the winter solstice, the position of the sun directly on the ground reaches the southernmost point of the year, almost directly on the tropic of Capricorn (23 26' south latitude). On this day, the northern hemisphere gets the least sunshine, 50% less than the southern hemisphere. The days in the northern hemisphere are the shortest, and the farther north they are, the shorter they are.

According to the investigation of Duke Zhou, Zhou people made a detailed plan for the first national capital after the demise of Shang Dynasty. "Yizhou Zuoluo Book" said: "It is a great city, growing in the soil for a week, ... in Luoshui in the south and Mangshan in the north, and the world is in harmony." . After the national society (capital and ancestral temple) was completed, Duke Zhou formulated the national etiquette system in detail in "Rite and Music System: Famous Hall of Chengzhou". According to records, the first month of the Zhou Dynasty is winter and November, and the winter solstice is the beginning of the New Year. In other words, Duke Zhou chose the longest day in the "sun shadow" measured by the Tugui method as the New Year.

There is a saying in Hanshu: "The sun shines brightly from the winter solstice, your majesty and minister, congratulations …" In other words, people originally celebrated the winter solstice festival to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. The ancients believed that since the winter solstice, the yang of heaven and earth began to flourish and become stronger, representing the beginning of the next cycle, which is a good day. As a festival, the winter solstice originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has continued to this day. The first month of the week calendar is 1 1 month of the summer calendar. It was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted the summer calendar that the first month was separated from winter to Japan. Therefore, it can also be said that the "Winter Solstice Festival" began in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has existed ever since.

The winter solstice is the shortest day and the longest night in the northern hemisphere, and it is also the day with the lowest sun angle at noon. The ancients called the winter solstice "short day". Meteorological data show that there will be frequent cold air and cold wave activities around the winter solstice every year, and the temperature will continue to drop. Therefore, in winter solstice, people like to eat hot food, such as jiaozi and mutton, to prevent colds.

The ancients believed that since the winter of solstice, the yang of heaven and earth began to flourish, representing the beginning of the next cycle and the arrival of good luck. Therefore, the custom of ancestor worship and family dinner in the Spring Festival is often chosen on the solstice of winter. The winter solstice is also called "off-year". First, it shows that the year is approaching and there are not many days left. The second is to show the importance of the winter solstice.

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.