The solstice in winter is the ancient Spring Festival.

The winter solstice and the Spring Festival originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and have been passed down to this day.

The ancients attached great importance to the winter solstice. People think that the winter solstice is a natural transformation of Yin and Yang and a blessing from heaven. In the Han Dynasty, the winter solstice was the "Winter Festival", and the government held a congratulatory ceremony called "He Dong", which was a routine festival.

People have always attached great importance to the winter solstice festival. In the pre-Qin period, the customs and cultures of the north and the south were different, and the customs of various places had not been integrated and popularized. Many festivals have a history, but they are not recorded. Many ancient festivals and customs are rarely recorded in books.

According to the existing works, the people of Zhou Dynasty (Shaanxi area) took November in winter as the first month and November 1 in winter as the beginning of the year. 1 1 month 1 day in Zhou people's winter is exactly the date of winter solstice in the "twenty-four solar terms" of the current lunar calendar1month, so it is said that Zhou people have been in winter solstice since the Zhou period (1 1)

Yi Yue: My late king and even the Japanese were closed to the outside world, so business travel was no good. "Etiquette in the Later Han Dynasty": "Around the winter solstice, gentlemen live in peace, and officials do nothing." We also have to choose "capable people", beat gongs and drums, and play the "Yellow Bell Method" to celebrate.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the solstice of winter and the beginning of a year were both important. Meng Yuanlao's Dream of China in Tokyo in the Southern Song Dynasty: "November Winter Solstice. The capital attaches great importance to this festival. Although it is in the hands of the poor, it is easier to get new clothes, prepare meals and enjoy the ancestors in a year. Officials let go and celebrate exchanges, just like the Chinese New Year. "

"The winter solstice is as big as a year" (Ting Anne Lu). Jiaxing emphasizes the winter solstice, as the saying goes, "winter solstice is as big as a year", which retains the ancient style. According to the Records of Jiaxing Prefecture (Volume 34: Customs), "The winter solstice is celebrated first, and it is like a New Year's Day ceremony". People advocate winter solstice tonic.

Winter solstice festival customs

1, draw nine

The so-called Figure 9 is actually a graph to calculate the warm date from winter to the following spring. In the Ming Dynasty, "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" contained: "From winter to the sun, draw a plum flower, one in eighty petals. Dye one petal a day, and 99 petals will come out, then the spring will be deep, saying that 99 will eliminate the cold. " There are three kinds of patterns in "99 Cold Map", which are characters, circles and plum blossoms.

Step 2 brew rice wine

Traditional Gusu people will drink winter wine on the night of winter solstice, and the winter wine will be brewed with glutinous rice or yellow rice and osmanthus.

Step 3 eat glutinous rice balls

Eating dumplings is a traditional custom from winter solstice, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. "Tangyuan" is an indispensable food in winter solstice, and "round" means "reunion" and "perfection". Eating glutinous rice balls on the solstice in winter is also called "the solstice in winter". There is a folk saying that "eating glutinous rice balls makes you one year older".

Step 4 eat barbecue and ginger rice

Some places in the south want to eat barbecue on the solstice in winter. On the solstice of winter, roasted meat becomes an indispensable delicacy on the table of Guangdong and Guangxi people, which means adding vegetables to add new year. On the solstice of winter, Wuchuan people have the custom of "eating ginger rice" on the solstice of winter.

Step 5 eat sweet potato soup

In the traditional customs of Ningbo, sweet potato soup is one of the must-eat foods in winter solstice. "Fan" and "Fan" are homophones. In Ningbo people's understanding, eating sweet potatoes on the solstice in winter means "turning over" all the bad luck of the past year. Tang Guo is similar to jiaozi, much smaller and without stuffing. Tang Guo is also called jiaozi, which means "reunion" and "perfection".

There is also a saying in old Ningbo that "you are one year older after eating soup". People in Ningbo are used to adding wine to sweet potato soup. In Ningbo dialect, wine-making is also called "pulp board", and "pulp" is homophonic with "sheng" in Ningbo dialect, taking its lewdness of "high luck" and "high happiness"

6. Eat jiaozi

In many parts of northern China, it is a custom to eat jiaozi every winter solstice. North China will eat jiaozi on this day, because jiaozi means "driving away the cold". So far, there is a folk proverb that says "no one will care if you freeze your ears on the winter solstice".