What is the winter solstice in China?

The winter solstice, also known as "Winter Festival" and "Happy Winter", is one of the twenty-four solar terms in China and one of the eight astronomical solar terms, which is opposite to the summer solstice. According to legend, the solstice in winter is the New Year's Day of the Zhou Dynasty in history, and it was once a very lively day. In China, it is customary to eat jiaozi and drink mutton soup on the solstice in winter. Although the dietary customs vary from place to place, the solstice in winter is still one of the most important festivals in China.

On the solstice in winter, the sun shines directly on the tropic of Capricorn (also known as the winter solstice daily line), making the days in the northern hemisphere the shortest and the nights the longest. It is often said that when the winter solstice comes, the coldest and most difficult days of the year will come and the cold days will begin.

When the solstice of winter comes, northerners, rich or poor, will get together and cook a lively meal for jiaozi.

The excitement of winter solstice is an emotion of returning to nature. When people neglect the beautiful details in their lives in their busyness and forget to go home in their endless pursuit, the solstice in winter is the emotional hub connecting people. Old people are keen on traditional festivals, and "celebrating the winter solstice" is a beautiful vision. This is not a feudal superstition, but the old people's attachment to their families and relatives. Home is a warm harbor. No matter what difficulties we encounter, we can always find warmth at home. When we gradually understand and go away to study, home becomes homesick.

Winter solstice, as a traditional festival in China, we should inherit and carry forward it. In recent years, Valentine's Day, April Fool's Day, Thanksgiving Day and many other "foreign festivals" have been respected by more and more young people. Coupled with the shrewd promotion and marketing concessions of some merchants, our traditional festivals are drifting away, which makes our traditional festivals in an obvious weak position in the competition with foreign cultures. While absorbing the essence of foreign culture, we should not forget to inherit the culture of the Chinese nation and not let traditional festivals fall behind in the competition with foreign cultures. The custom of winter solstice is passed down from generation to generation, which also reminds us to cherish the roots of culture and consolidate cultural self-confidence for building a Chinese dream.