Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - The 24 Solar Terms - In which direction does the bucket handle of the Big Dipper point from winter to morning?

In which direction does the bucket handle of the Big Dipper point from winter to morning?

On the winter solstice, the bucket handle of the Big Dipper points north.

Winter solstice, also known as solstice, winter festival, child year, etc. It has both natural and humanistic connotations. It is not only an important solar term among the 24 solar terms, but also a traditional folk ancestor worship festival in China. The solstice in winter is one of the eight festivals in four seasons, and it is considered as a big holiday in winter. In ancient times, there was a saying that the winter solstice was as big as a year. The custom of winter solstice varies in content or details due to different regions.

In southern China, there are customs of offering sacrifices to ancestors and enjoying the winter solstice. In northern China, it is a custom to eat jiaozi from winter to Sunday every year.

Winter solstice:

The 22nd solar term in the "Twenty-four Solar Terms"-Douzhizi, with a solar longitude of 270 degrees, meets on February 2 1-23 of the Gregorian calendar every year. The solstice in winter is the extreme point of direct sunlight spreading to the south. On the solstice in winter, the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Capricorn, which is the most inclined to the northern hemisphere and the solar altitude angle is the smallest. In all parts of the northern hemisphere, the days are the shortest and the nights are the longest.

In winter solstice, although the sun is low and the days are short, the temperature in winter solstice is not the lowest in meteorology. In fact, because there is still "accumulated heat" on the surface, it is usually not very cold before the winter solstice, and the real cold is after the winter solstice. Because of the great difference in climate in different parts of China, this winter climate is obviously late for most parts of China.

The winter solstice marks the beginning of the cold season, and people begin to count to nine to calculate the cold weather (folk proverb: "The summer solstice is the third watch, and the winter solstice is the ninth watch").