The origin and significance of winter solstice

The origin and significance of the winter solstice are as follows:

1, the source of winter solstice

The Winter Solstice Festival originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has been passed down to this day. In the Han Dynasty, the winter solstice was regarded as the "Winter Festival", and the official congratulations ceremony was called "He Dong". On this day, the whole court had a holiday, the army was on standby, the frontier fortress was closed, the business trip was closed, relatives and friends sent meals to each other and visited each other, and they had a "quiet and peaceful" festival happily. At the same time, the winter solstice is one of the "24 solar terms" in China. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, twenty-four solar terms were absorbed into the calendar as a supplement to the calendar guiding farming, and the division of solar terms adopted the method of "balancing qi" (that is, the average time method).

2. The significance of winter solstice

Winter solstice means cold coming: winter solstice is the earliest of the 24 solar terms, which originated in the Spring and Autumn Period. On the solstice of winter, direct sunlight reaches the southernmost part of the year, and the northern hemisphere gets 50% less sunlight than the southern hemisphere, and the daytime in the northern hemisphere reaches the shortest. Winter solstice is regarded as a big holiday in winter. There is a folk saying that winter solstice is as big as a year, so the ancients called it "sub-year" or "off-year". Most northerners have the custom of eating jiaozi from winter solstice, while most southerners have the custom of eating sweets.

Winter solstice diet

In the Qing Dynasty, Beijing, Suzhou and Hangzhou attached importance to winter festivals. The so-called "fat winter and thin year" means that you would rather be frugal during the New Year than waste it on the winter solstice. People give each other all kinds of food, which is called "winter solstice dish" and celebrate each other, which is called winter worship. Until now, the winter solstice festival is still popular among people in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Taiwan Province and Guangdong, where ancestors are sacrificed, glutinous rice products are eaten and banquets are held, among which there are many interesting food activities.

For example, eat more winter solstice meat, winter solstice fish and Jiangsu and Zhejiang chickens and ducks. Winter solstice meat is cooked with pork and soy sauce. It is said that eating it can make you strong. The solstice fish in winter is to separate the fish, leaving the head and tail, and put them in a bowl in a rice bucket. This is called "leftovers", which means to get enough food. This is similar to eating fish on New Year's Eve, which means "more than a year".

Some northern regions, such as Beijing and Tianjin, eat jiaozi or wonton on the night of winter solstice. As the saying goes, "winter solstice wonton, summer solstice noodles." Folklore is to commemorate Zhang Zhongjing, a famous doctor in Henan. He opened a medicine shed on the solstice of winter, wrapped mutton and medicinal dough, and made ear-shaped "pepper" to treat people's frozen ears.