What does it mean to wait for spring by counting the days?

This sentence means that our ancestors had the custom of counting nine from winter to Sunday to record the phenological changes of the vernal equinox from winter to Sunday in the coming year. "Number" means "number nine". From this day on, we expect the weather to get warmer and wait for the arrival of spring quietly.

Expansion: winter solstice, also known as solstice, winter festival, sub-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.