What food does Shanghai eat on the solstice in winter?

Shanghai will eat dumplings, sweet white wine, flower cakes, eight-treasure porridge, serving cream, etc. Shanghainese pay special attention to the solstice in winter. In the old days, the big family had a winter worship ceremony, and they wanted to go to Ximen Wanshou Palace to worship cards. In the evening, people will build a pavilion to offer sacrifices. This pavilion is called the "Winter Solstice Pavilion". After the sacrifice, family members have a reunion dinner and say auspicious words, so there is a saying that "something to eat, eat day and night in winter, and freeze all night". On the solstice night in winter, ordinary people get together to have a big meal, and a large table is full, chatting while eating and pushing cups and hairpins, which makes them feel very happy. Affection, friendship and love are connected and deepened between cups and needles.

Tangyuan is an essential food from winter solstice, and it is a round dessert made of glutinous rice flour. Circle means "reunion" and "perfection". Eating dumplings on the winter solstice is also called "the winter solstice group", which also means reunion. Modern people prefer to regard it as a symbol of perfection. There is a folk saying that "eating glutinous rice balls is one year older".

In the past, Shanghainese used to cook sweet white wine and glutinous rice balls at family banquets on the solstice in winter, and newly steamed flower cakes were also essential seasonal foods. Flower cake is made of rice flour, bean flour, etc. It is fermented with jujube, chestnut, almond and other fruit capsules and steamed with sugar.

Shanghainese also have the custom of eating eight-treasure porridge and red bean glutinous rice on the solstice in winter. Legend has it that in ancient times there was a son of Gong, who was ignorant and evil. Later, he died on the winter solstice. After his death, he became a plague ghost to harm the people. However, this ghost is most afraid of red beans, so people cook red bean rice on the solstice in winter to drive away ghosts and evil souls and prevent disasters and diseases.