What are the traditional folk customs on the solstice in winter?

Eating jiaozi's winter solstice is one of the 24 solar terms in China, commonly known as "Winter Festival", "Dragon Solstice Festival" and "Asian New Year", which is a traditional festival of the Chinese nation. The custom of winter solstice originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has continued to this day. Lu even said that the winter solstice is as big as a year. This shows that the ancients attached great importance to the winter solstice. Because of this, the food culture in winter solstice is rich and colorful, such as wonton, jiaozi, glutinous rice balls, red bean porridge, millet rice cakes and so on. After thousands of years of development, it has formed a unique seasonal diet culture.

Eating Wonton Many places in China have the custom of eating Wonton on the solstice in winter. According to Yanjing Years Old, "Winter Solstice Wonton and Summer Solstice Noodle", on the winter solstice, people in Shi Jing eat more wonton. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Lin 'an (now Hangzhou) also had the custom of eating wonton in winter solstice. The Song people explained in detail that Lin 'an people eat wonton to worship their ancestors on the solstice in winter. It was not until the Southern Song Dynasty that the custom of eating wonton on the solstice became popular in China.

Today, wonton has become a famous snack with many kinds, different productions and delicious taste all over the country, which is deeply loved by people. Wonton has many names, such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang Wonton, Guangdong Wonton, Hubei Noodle, Jiangxi Clear Soup, Sichuan Wonton, Xinjiang Ququ and so on. There are many unique wonton in various places, which are deeply loved by diners. The famous wonton in Chengdu Long Wonton Museum is rich in varieties, with thin skin and tender stuffing, delicious soup and delicious taste. Chongqing's crossing the bridge to copy the hand, the package is exquisite, the seasoning is diverse, and the seasoning is dipped; Sanxian wonton in Songyunlou, the Old Town God Temple in Shanghai, has exquisite stuffing, thin stuffing and delicious taste. The ququ in Urumqi, Xinjiang, is filled with mutton, with thin skin and tender stuffing, and the soup is clear and delicious.

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 is also called jiaozi, and eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter is also called "jiaozi on the solstice in winter". According to the records of Qing Dynasty, Jiangnan people made dough with glutinous rice flour, which was covered with sugar, meat, apples, bean paste, shredded radish and so on. The winter solstice group can be used to worship ancestors or give gifts to relatives and friends. In the past, Shanghainese were most particular about eating jiaozi. At the family dinner, they tasted the newly brewed sweet white wine, flower cakes and glutinous rice balls, and then put meat pieces on the plate to worship their ancestors. An ancient poem said, "Every family beats rice to make glutinous rice balls, knowing that it is the winter solstice of the Ming Dynasty." Tangyuan is also a traditional food in China. There are many famous jiaozi in the north and south, such as jiaozi in Ningbo, which is thin and sticky; Changsha sister jiaozi is white and crystal clear, sweet and delicious; The dumplings in front of Wenzhou County are very famous, delicious and sweet. In addition, vegetable dumplings in Taiwan Province Province, Lai dumplings in Chengdu, Babao dumplings in Guiyang and Weijiaxiang dumplings in Anqing are also unique delicacies. Now, jiaozi can be eaten all year round, not only in winter solstice.

Eating "frozen ears" and "frozen ears" are the common names for Henan people to eat jiaozi from winter to Sunday. Why is there such a diet custom? According to legend, Zhang Zhongjing, a doctor from Nanyang, was an official in Changsha. When he retired in his later years, it was a snowy winter and the wind was biting. He was very sad when he saw the villagers on both sides of the Baihe River in Nanyang dressed in rags, and many people's ears were frozen rotten. He asked his disciples to set up a medicine shed in Guandong, Nanyang, and put mutton, peppers and some cold-dispelling herbs in a pot, fished them out and chopped them up, imaged their ears with leather bags, and then put them down in the pot to make a medicine called "cold-dispelling and ear-correcting soup" for the people. After eating it, the villagers' ears will be fine. Later, on the solstice of winter, people imitated and cooked, thus forming the custom of "pinching ears".

Eating rice cakes From the end of the Qing Dynasty to the first day of the Republic of China until now, people in Hangzhou like to eat rice cakes on the solstice of winter. On the solstice of winter, we will make three kinds of rice cakes with different flavors. In the morning, we eat rice cakes mixed with sesame powder and sugar. At noon, we eat fried rice cakes with pickles, winter bamboo shoots and shredded pork. For dinner, we have mustard rice cake, shredded pork and shredded bamboo shoots soup. Eating rice cakes on the solstice of winter is good luck to get old.

Eat buckwheat noodles every winter solstice in Zhejiang and other places, the whole family, men, women and children should get together, and the married daughter should also rush back to her husband's house. Every household should make buckwheat noodles to eat. According to custom, eating buckwheat in winter solstice can remove pig hair and chicken feathers from the stomach.

Eating red bean glutinous rice in Jiangnan water town, there is a custom that the whole family get together to eat red bean glutinous rice on the night of winter solstice. There is an interesting rumor about its origin! According to legend, there was a man named Gong. His son was incompetent and evil. He died on the Winter Solstice. Become a plague ghost after death and continue to harm the people. However, this epidemic ghost is most afraid of red beans, so people cook red bean rice from winter solstice to drive away the epidemic ghost and prevent diseases.