What does the custom of solar terms in winter solstice mean?

Winter solstice is one of the traditional 24 solar terms in China, and it is also an important agricultural solar term. In farming society, people will cook jiaozi, stew chicken soup and eat and drink on this day. In the folk, there are also some special traditional customs on the solstice in winter. For example, southerners will eat and drink steamed glutinous rice cakes, while in the north, there are customs such as eating glutinous rice, drinking and hanging lanterns.

The solstice in winter is also the golden age of health preservation. In this season, people should eat more warm food, such as mutton, beef, fish and tofu, and keep warm to prevent colds. In addition, the day is still a "blood-enriching and beauty-nourishing day", so you may wish to have some jujube porridge, red bean soup or homemade jujube tea for beauty.

In addition to customs and health preservation, the winter solstice also contains profound cultural connotations. Some people in history say that the winter solstice is the season when the sun hides, which means that the sun begins to return to the sun and the days become longer. The winter solstice is also one of some famous "winter celebration festivals" in China traditional culture, such as the Snow Festival and Laba Festival. These festivals are all related to the story of "lack of food and clothing" and still have certain inheritance and significance in contemporary society.