Relationship between Winter Solstice Festival and Taoism

Winter solstice has a history of more than 2,000 years in China. The ancients said that the winter solstice is the birth of the sun, and that this is a subtle node of the rise and fall of Yin and Yang. Therefore, it is not only regarded as an important solar term, but also a big festival in a year. In the long years, the contents of the Winter Solstice Festival have become more and more abundant, many of which are related to Taoism in China. Let me introduce the relationship between the Winter Solstice Festival and Taoism.

Winter solstice is a rich festival. The winter solstice festival is not only related to the astronomical calendar and the seasons of the year, but also can be found in local Taoist classics. The Book of Changes explains the winter solstice by repeating divination, saying: the divination of the winter solstice, the beginning of the sun, the beginning of everything, and the division of good and bad, so it is called seeing the heart of heaven and earth.

Correspondingly, Zhouyi Shentongqi, which is regarded as the king of alchemy in Taoism, uses the Book of Changes to explain the way of alchemy, and takes complex divination as the starting point of alchemy: Heaven advances and retreats, and bends and stretches with the times. So it is easy to unify the heavenly heart, and the revival of divination begins to sprout. The eldest son has the body of his stepfather, and his mother founded Evonne. The message should be in the rhythm of the clock, and the summary should be based on the fulcrum of the bucket.

In addition, the orthodox collection of Taoist scriptures is the first book, and the announcement of the Golden Record of Divination in December also says: When divination is resumed, the sun rises, and when the child is young, Jeff turns to the highest day; Gao Qi skillfully repaired the Jinding and served the Jade Emperor with pure heart. The white tiger was not completely subdued, and the Qinglong gradually flew. Immortals have kept secrets since ancient times, and Dan has no other way to repay them.

Accordingly, the first hexagram is regarded as the true yang in Taoist practice, and the time when the hexagram is located is a sign of the appearance of yang. When the alchemist is on fire, the relationship between the winter solstice and Taoism can be deeply seen. In addition, in Taoism, the solstice in winter is also considered as the Christmas of the first Taoist god, Yuanshi Tianzun, so there are activities to worship Yuanshi Tianzun in Taoist temples around the solstice in winter.