The origin and custom of winter solstice

1, winter solstice, is one of the "24 solar terms". 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). The "leveling method" is to determine the shortest day in the Yellow River basin as the winter solstice by photogrammetry, divide the date between the winter solstice and the next winter solstice into twelve equal parts, which is called "Zhongqi", and then divide the dates between adjacent "Zhongqi" into equal parts, which is called "solar terms"; On average, there is a "neutral gas" and a "solar term" every month, which are collectively called "24 solar terms".

2, the custom of winter solstice:

(1) Eat jiaozi and wonton in the north. In northern China, there is a custom of eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter. On this day every year, jiaozi is an indispensable holiday feast for the rich and the poor. According to legend, this custom is to commemorate the kindness of "medical sage" Zhang Zhongjing in "Quhan Joule Decoction". The meaning of winter solstice wonton is mainly sacrifice, followed by eating. Some ancient people thought that eating wonton in winter solstice was to break the yin, release the yang and support the growth of the yang between heaven and earth.

(2) Eating glutinous rice balls in the south. Eating glutinous rice balls on the solstice in winter is a traditional custom in China, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. There is a folk saying that "eating glutinous rice balls is one year older". Tangyuan can be used to worship ancestors, give gifts to relatives and friends, and represent reunion.