Why is the winter from solstice called "off-year"?

Winter solstice, also known as short day, short day, southern solstice and winter festival, winter solstice festival, Asian New Year, is both a solar term and a festival. The winter solstice is a solar term reflecting the direct sunlight movement. On the solstice of winter, the sun moves southward to the extreme, and 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. From that day on, the direct sunlight point returned to the north, and the height of the sun in all parts of the northern hemisphere (China is located in the northern hemisphere) gradually increased, and the number of days also increased day by day.

The solstice in winter is the turning point of a day's journey from south to north. For all parts of the northern hemisphere, the height of the sun rises and the sunshine gradually increases. According to the law of solar terms, beginning of spring is the starting point of the rising of "Yin and Yang" qi in Yang Qi. Since the beginning of spring, Yang Qi has changed and Yang Qi has risen. The beginning of spring marks the rebirth of everything and the beginning of a new cycle.

The solstice in winter is the starting point for the return of the sun. Since the winter solstice, the height of the sun has risen, and the day is getting longer and longer. The winter solstice marks the rebirth of the sun and the round-trip movement of the sun into a new cycle. Therefore, the ancients also regarded the winter solstice as a "good day". Among the eight festivals, the winter solstice is as important as New Year's Day in spring.

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Agricultural production is closely related to the rhythm of nature. "Twenty-four solar terms" is the product of ancient farming civilization, which not only plays a guiding role in agricultural production, but also affects ancient people's basic necessities of life and even cultural concepts.

In the 24 solar terms, beginning of spring is the starting point for Yang Qi to rise in the "Yin and Yang" qi, and a new cycle begins in beginning of spring. The solstice in winter is the starting point of the sun's return, marking the rebirth of the sun and the new cycle of the sun's round-trip movement. In the four seasons and eight festivals, the winter solstice symbolizing the rebirth of the sun is as important as beginning of spring symbolizing the rising of the yang.

In ancient China, ancient people in some places attached great importance to the winter solstice and thought it was a big festival. There is a saying that the winter solstice is as big as a year, and there is a custom to celebrate it. In ancient times, the solstice of winter was called "Ya-nian", and "Ya-nian" was second only to "Nian". The solstice of winter is also called "small year", which means that a year is coming. Winter solstice is one of the eight festivals in a year. In ancient times, people in some places in China had the custom of offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors on the Eighth Festival.