Solar terms, food customs, winter solstice, jiaozi or glutinous rice balls.

Influenced by many factors, such as region, mode of production, climate, etc., cultural differences between North and South have always existed. In the diet that best reflects the lifestyle of a place, the difference between the two is the most obvious. The question is whether to eat glutinous rice balls or jiaozi on the solstice in winter. Let's take a look together.

Eat jiaozi in winter in the north of solstice.

In the north of China, there is a saying that "winter solstice jiaozi, summer solstice noodles". Why eat jiaozi on this day? Jiaozi, formerly known as Joule, is said to have been invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a doctor in China, with a history of 1800 years.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Zhongjing, a famous doctor, saw that many poor people were hungry and cold, and their ears were frozen and rotten, so he invented the soup for removing cold pepper ears, which was cooked in a pot with mutton, pepper and some herbs for removing cold, and then these things were taken out and boiled, chopped up, and the noodles were wrapped into ear-shaped "pepper ears". After cooking, give it to the patients, 20 cents each and a bowl of soup. After eating Quhan decoction, people feel feverish all over, their qi and blood flow smoothly, and their ears get warmer. The patient's rotten ears will be cured in a short time.

Zhang Zhongjing didn't give up taking medicine until New Year's Eve. On the first day of the new year, people celebrate the new year and the recovery of rotten ears. The food they make is like burnt ears, which are called "Jiao Er" and "jiaozi". Since then, the story of "Quhan Joule Decoction" has been widely circulated among the people. On the solstice of winter and the first day of New Year's Day, people eat jiaozi, and they still remember Zhang Zhongjing's kindness in their hearts. Therefore, there is a saying that eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter won't freeze your ears.

Eat glutinous rice balls in winter in the south of Japan.

There is a saying in an ancient poem: "Every family beats rice to make dumplings, knowing that it is the winter solstice of the Ming Dynasty." Eating jiaozi is also one of the traditional customs from the winter solstice. Chaoshan people in Guangdong call the solstice of winter the winter festival. On the solstice in winter, they also have the custom of eating dumplings. There is a saying that eating dumplings on the solstice in winter makes them one year older, which means eating dumplings on the solstice in winter makes them one year older.

The custom of eating glutinous rice balls on the solstice in winter is especially popular in the south of the Yangtze River. Before the winter solstice, people in the south of the Yangtze River often use glutinous rice flour to make dough, and wrap jiaozi with fillings such as lean meat, apples, bean paste and shredded radish. For Jiangnan people, "Tangyuan" is a necessary food from winter to Sunday. Because "round" means "reunion" and "perfection", eating glutinous rice balls in winter solstice is also called "winter solstice group", which is a blessing for family reunion in the coming year. In addition, there is a custom of eating red beans and glutinous rice for the whole family in Jiangnan water town from winter to Japanese.