What are the customs of the winter solstice solar terms?

The custom of winter solstice is divided into two parts, namely the south and the north, as follows:

Many places in southern China will celebrate the winter solstice. Some coastal areas in the south continue the traditional custom of ancestor worship. Every household is dedicated to ancestor statues, memorial tablets, etc. Go to the hall at home, place an altar, set up incense burners, offerings, etc. In some places, while offering sacrifices to ancestors, they also offer sacrifices to gods, land gods and deities, so as to make the next year's weather favorable and the family prosperous.

Cantonese people eat barbecue and ginger rice on the solstice in winter. On this day, most Cantonese people have the custom of eating meat and "adding vegetables" during the winter solstice. In Chaoshan area, there is a folk saying that "Winter Festival Pills, once eaten, celebrate the New Year", commonly known as "Adding New Year". Hakkas believe that the taste of water is the most mellow in winter solstice, so it has become a custom for Hakkas to make wine in winter solstice.

People in Hangzhou eat rice cakes on the solstice in winter. From the late Ming and early Qing dynasties to the present, people in Hangzhou like to eat rice cakes on the solstice in winter. In winter solstice, you can cook rice cakes with different flavors, eat rice cakes in winter solstice and get old, which is auspicious. In Sichuan, it is the solstice to eat mutton soup in winter, and mutton is the first tonic in winter. In the area around the two lakes, red beans and glutinous rice must be eaten on the solstice in winter. ?

In some areas in the south, eating the winter solstice ball is more popular, which means reunion. On the morning of winter solstice, every household grinds glutinous rice flour, and uses sugar, meat, radish, fruit and shredded radish as stuffing to make winter solstice meatballs, which are not only eaten at home, but also given to relatives and friends as a symbol of blessing. In fact, eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter is a traditional custom in China, which is more common in Jiangnan. There is also a folk saying that "eating jiaozi is one year older". ?

In many parts of northern China, it is a custom to eat jiaozi every winter solstice. According to legend, Zhang Zhongjing, a medical sage, saw a frozen person when he retired in his later years, so he wrapped mutton, some cold-dispelling herbs and dough into the shape of ears, made a medicine called "Quhan Jiaoer Decoction" and gave it to the people. Later, on the solstice of winter, people imitated eating and formed a custom.