What is the winter solstice festival?

Winter solstice is one of the 24 solar terms, also known as "winter festival" and "happy winter". It is also said that it is both a solar term and a festival. In the Zhou Dynasty, it was New Year's Day, which used to be a very lively day.

In ancient books, it seems that we can also find evidence that the winter solstice is a holiday. There is a literature record: "When the sun shines brightly in the winter solstice, the monarch is long, so congratulations …" In other words, people originally celebrated the winter solstice festival to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.

Solstice, as a festival, originated in the Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties. However, the first month of the Zhou calendar is November in the summer calendar, so the first month of the Zhou Dynasty is equal to November now, and there is actually little difference between New Year greetings and welcoming Dong.

However, some scholars believe that strictly speaking, the winter solstice is not a festival. Wang Juan, a folklore expert, said, "This solar term appeared very early, and the way of celebration also appeared earlier, but it cannot be simply equated with the festival we are talking about now."

"In ancient times, many important events were held from winter to the sun, with rich contents, but different places celebrated in different ways, with great differences." She explained that the usual folk activities probably include sending shoes to the elders, "counting nine" and drawing pictures to drive away the cold.