The Origin and Related Legends of the Winter Solstice Festival —— A Brief Introduction to the Origin and Customs of the Winter Solstice Festival

1, the winter solstice festival originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has continued 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.

2. The winter solstice is the earliest of the 24 solar terms, but most people don't know that the origin of the winter solstice actually comes from the planning of a national capital. As early as more than 3,000 years ago, Duke Zhou began to measure the shadow with the earth gauge method and measure the position of the world in Luoyi. This was a move of political significance at that time, but it became one of the festivals that affected future generations for thousands of years.