Customs of solar terms in winter solstice

Winter solstice, one of the 24 solar terms, also known as winter festival and winter festival, has been a festival that the court and the people attach great importance to since ancient times. There is a saying in Hanshu: "The sun shines brightly from the winter solstice, your majesty and minister, congratulations …" In other words, people originally celebrated the winter solstice festival to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. Nowadays, during the winter solstice, there are also some celebrations in various parts of our country. So what customs do you know from winter solstice?

1, rice cake

New year's cake, new year's cake. Eating rice cakes is to win the lottery ticket of "getting higher every year". From the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China, people in Hangzhou always eat rice cakes on the solstice of winter. The most extreme way to eat is to eat three meals a day without missing a meal. In the morning, we eat steamed rice cakes with sesame powder and sugar, fried rice cakes with oil and winter vegetables and shredded pork with winter bamboo shoots at noon. Dinner is rice cake with mustard, shredded pork and shredded bamboo shoots soup.

In Taiwan Province, nine-layer cakes are very popular in winter solstice. The winter solstice, also known as the "Winter Festival", is quite grand. People in Taiwan Province Province worship their ancestors with nine layers of cakes, and then put them on the table. The main ingredient of the nine-layer cake is glutinous rice flour, which is kneaded into the shapes of nine auspicious animals such as turtles, sheep, pigs, cows, chickens and ducks, and then steamed in layers for ancestor worship. After the sacrifice, relatives hold a banquet to share food, which is called "eating ancestors" to show that they don't forget their ancestors and remember their roots.

3. Solstice Pills in Winter On the morning of the winter solstice, adults and children at home often sit around bamboo rafts or big plates. Each person extracts a powder ball made of glutinous rice flour and water in advance and kneads it into marbles with two hands, which is called "Solstice Pills in Winter". "Winter Solstice Pill" symbolizes family reunion at the end of the year. Some "winter solstice pills" also contain orange cakes, winter melon candy and bean paste, commonly known as "duck mother cup". "Winter solstice pills" can be rubbed at will in different sizes, which is a good sign of "Gongsun pills". In Chaoshan, there is a folk proverb, "Winter Solstice Pills, once eaten, celebrate the New Year", commonly known as "adding new year", which means that although the new year has not passed, everyone has added a year.

4. Red bean glutinous rice In the southern water town of China, it is a custom for the whole family to get together to eat red bean glutinous rice on the night of winter solstice. According to legend, * * * Gong was a troubled wit who died in the winter. 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 beans and glutinous rice on the solstice in winter to drive away the epidemic ghost and prevent disasters.

In many places in jiaozi, it is a custom to eat jiaozi on the solstice in winter. In China, no matter rich or poor, jiaozi is an indispensable holiday food on people's table. According to legend, the custom of eating jiaozi in winter solstice is because Zhang Zhongjing does not forget to give alms to "dispel cold and charming ear soup". There is a saying among Nanyang people that "jiaozi can't be reached on the solstice in winter, and nobody cares if you freeze your ears".

These are the customs I know about the winter solstice. What else do you know, my friend?