Common names and meanings of winter solstice

The solstice of winter is commonly called off-year and off-year, which means that the cold is coming.

The winter solstice is the earliest of the 24 solar terms, which originated in the Spring and Autumn Period. On the solstice of winter, direct sunlight reaches the southernmost part of the year, and the northern hemisphere gets 50% less sunlight than the southern hemisphere, and the daytime in the northern hemisphere reaches the shortest.

Winter solstice is regarded as a big holiday in winter. There is a folk saying that winter solstice is as big as a year, so the ancients called it "sub-year" or "off-year". Most northerners have the custom of eating jiaozi from winter solstice, while most southerners have the custom of eating sweets.

The solstice of winter was considered to be a very important day in ancient times, and people even called it a small year. Every year, when we celebrate the winter solstice, we have to make a lot of preparations, and even there are many celebrations among the people. So the solstice in winter often symbolizes reunion.

In addition, among the 24 solar terms, the winter solstice is also an important solar term. Its arrival means that the days outside will be longer and longer, the nights will be shorter and shorter, the temperature will gradually drop, and it will gradually enter the severe winter.

Winter solstice custom:

The winter solstice, with both natural and humanistic connotations, is not only an important solar term among the 24 solar terms, but also a traditional folk festival in China, which is known as "the winter solstice is as big as a year".

The solstice in winter is the starting point for the return of the sun. Since the winter solstice, the sun has risen to a high place, and the days are getting longer and longer. The solstice in winter marks the rebirth of the sun and the movement of the sun back and forth into a new cycle. Therefore, the ancients regarded the solstice in winter as a "good day". Among the eight festivals in a year, the solstice in winter is as important as New Year's Day in spring.

In southern China, there are customs of offering sacrifices to ancestors and enjoying the winter solstice. In northern China, it is a custom to eat jiaozi from winter to Sunday every year.