The legend of the twenty-four solar terms

The legend of the twenty-four solar terms is that Afu, a boy who grew up by the Yellow River, adopted a lonely and thin white pony. With the help of the magical figure formed by horse hair, Lingbaima guided Afu and the villagers to master the laws of arranging farming and life according to seasonal changes, and summarized these laws into "twenty-four solar terms", which are still in use today.

According to legend, the god of solar terms is Leigong. Lei Gong is a big bird, holding an iron awl hammer anytime and anywhere. It was with his awl hammer that thunder woke up everything on the earth, and people knew that spring had arrived. According to Guangdong folklore, the white tiger, one of the evil spirits, also came out for food on the same day. In order to ensure safety, people will also offer sacrifices to white tigers on Frightening Day.

According to legend, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty, ate dog meat cooked by Fan Kuai on the solstice in winter, which was particularly delicious and full of praise. Since then, the custom of eating dog meat from winter solstice has been formed among the people. Nowadays, people eat dog meat, mutton and all kinds of nutritious food on the solstice of winter, which is a good sign for the coming year.