What's the saying about the winter solstice?

Winter solstice is one of the twenty-four solar terms and one of the most important solar terms. Winter solstice is a solar term divided by astronomy, which was called "short day" and "short day" in ancient times. From winter to the sun, the sun is located at 270 degrees of the Yellow Meridian, and the sun shines almost directly to the Tropic of Capricorn, which has the shortest day in the northern hemisphere. Accordingly, the daytime from winter solstice in the southern hemisphere is the longest in the whole year.

The winter solstice usually falls on the Gregorian calendar1February 22nd or 23rd. 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. In China's traditional theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, the winter solstice is the key solar term of Yin-Yang transformation. In the twelfth year, divination is a complicated divination in a mine, which is called the winter solstice. Yi Yue: My late king and even the Japanese were closed to the outside world, so business travel was no good. In winter solstice, different places have different customs. For example, northerners eat jiaozi on the solstice in winter, while people in southern Jiangsu eat fried tofu with green onions on the solstice in winter.

The legend of winter solstice festival

One of the 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.

Legend 2: The custom of eating dog meat on the solstice is said to have started 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.

Legend 3: In Jiangnan water town, there is a custom that the whole family get together to eat red beans and glutinous rice on a winter solstice night. 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.