Custom knowledge of winter solstice

Among the 24 solar terms, the winter solstice is in November of the lunar calendar, when the sun shines directly on the tropic of Capricorn, which is the place with the shortest day and the longest night in the northern hemisphere, and then the day gradually becomes longer. The solstice of winter also indicates the arrival of the coldest season of the year. So since ancient times, there have been many customs. Below I have compiled some customs of winter solstice.

1, ancestor worship

China's southern coastal areas, such as western Guangdong, Chaoshan and parts of Zhejiang, continue the traditional custom of ancestor worship. Every household is dedicated to ancestor statues, memorial tablets, etc. Go to the hall at home, place an altar, set up incense burners, offerings, etc. In some places, while offering sacrifices to ancestors, they also offer sacrifices to gods, land gods and deities, so as to make the next year's weather favorable and the family prosperous.

Step 2 eat barbecue and ginger rice

Cantonese people eat barbecue and ginger rice on the solstice in winter. On this day, most Cantonese people have the custom of "adding vegetables" to eat meat on the solstice in winter. In Chaoshan area, there is a folk saying that "Winter Festival Pills, once eaten, celebrate the New Year", commonly known as "Adding New Year". Hakkas believe that the taste of water is the most mellow in winter solstice, so it has become a custom for Hakkas to make wine in winter solstice.

Step 3 eat rice cakes

People in Hangzhou eat rice cakes on the solstice in winter. From the late Ming and early Qing dynasties to the present, people in Hangzhou like to eat rice cakes on the solstice in winter. In winter solstice, you can cook rice cakes with different flavors, eat rice cakes in winter solstice and get old, which is auspicious. In Sichuan, it is the solstice to eat mutton soup in winter, and mutton is the first tonic in winter. In the area around the two lakes, red beans and glutinous rice must be eaten on the solstice in winter.

4. Eat a winter solstice dance?

In some areas in the south, eating the winter solstice ball is more popular, which means reunion. On the morning of winter solstice, every household grinds glutinous rice flour, and uses sugar, meat, radish, fruit and shredded radish as stuffing to make winter solstice meatballs, which are not only eaten at home, but also given to relatives and friends as a symbol of blessing. In fact, eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter is a traditional custom in China, which is more common in Jiangnan. There is also a folk saying that "eating jiaozi is one year older".

Step 5 Eat jiaozi.

As the saying goes, "On October 1st, the solstice of winter comes, and every household eats jiaozi." It can be seen that it is an essential custom to eat jiaozi on the solstice in winter. Zhang Zhongjing, a "medical sage", was a magistrate in Changsha. After resigning from his post and returning to his hometown, he saw that the villagers were sallow and emaciated, hungry and cold, and many people's ears were frozen. So, he ordered his disciples to set up a stove, put mutton and herbs for removing cold in a pot, then take them out and chop them up, make them into ear-shaped "charming ears" with bread, and give them to those who came to ask for medicine after cooking. After eating, people are warm all over, their ears are hot, and their frostbitten ears are cured. Later generations learned to look like Joule, wrapped it up and made it into food, so it was called "jiaozi".

Solstice solar terms have a traditional history of thousands of years in China, so there are many customs. I have listed a few customs that are familiar to everyone. If you know any other customs, please leave a message in the comments below.