What is the origin of the winter solstice?

The origin of the winter solstice is simple.

The origin of winter is very short, and many people have heard the saying that if winter comes, can spring be far behind? When the solstice of winter comes, people are very happy. Let me look at the brief information about the origin of the winter solstice with you. Let's have a look.

The origin of winter solstice is very short: 1 winter solstice, also known as winter festival, Asian New Year's Festival and Dragon solstice Festival. It has both natural and humanistic connotations, is an important solar term among the 24 solar terms, and is also a traditional folk festival in China. From winter to the sun, the sun reaches 270 degrees, and festivals are held every year on the Gregorian calendar 65438+February 2 1-23. Winter solstice is one of the eight festivals in a year. In ancient times, people had the custom of praying to God and offering sacrifices to their ancestors. Winter solstice is regarded as a big holiday in winter. There is a folk saying that winter solstice is as big as a year, so the ancients called it "sub-year" or "off-year". In some coastal areas in southern China, the traditional custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors during the winter solstice is still continuing. In some areas of northern China, it is a custom to eat jiaozi every winter solstice.

The story of the origin of the winter solstice is very short.

In ancient China, people attached great importance to the winter solstice, considered it a major festival, and had the custom of celebrating it. "Han Shu" said: "The sun shines on the winter solstice, and you are long, so congratulations."

People think that after the winter solstice, the days become longer and longer and the sun rises. This is the beginning of a solar cycle and an auspicious day, which should be celebrated. The Book of Jin records: "During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the whole country celebrated in the winter, and hundreds of people ... its appearance was not as good as that of Zheng Dan."

There is an old proverb about the winter solstice. The Book of Changes, Restoration, Xiang Yan: "The former king and even the Japanese closed their doors, and their business travel was not good and they were not saved."

The article "Punishment" in Ban Gu's White Tiger Yi Tong in Han Dynasty said: "Why not just fight on the winter solstice and close the door to business travel? Today, the sun is weak, and Wang Chengtian is the director. Therefore, the world is quiet and no longer works, helping the micro-gas to become everything. "

The Book of Beginners quotes Yi Tong from the Five Classics: "On the winter solstice, the sun is born, the yin and yang are refined, everything is successful, and the gas cannot be vented."

Therefore, the winter solstice in the eyes of the ancients should be quiet, which is a festival.

The Winter Solstice Festival originated in the Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the solstice was the day when the factory worshipped its ancestors in winter. On this day, the emperor went to the suburbs to hold a ceremony to worship the gods. On this day, people must worship their parents. There are still some places to celebrate the winter solstice.

People think that the winter solstice is a natural transformation of Yin and Yang and a blessing from heaven. In the Han Dynasty, the winter solstice was the "Winter Festival", and the government held a congratulatory ceremony called "He Dong", which was a routine festival. There is such a thing in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty. According to records: "Around the winter solstice, gentlemen lived quietly, and hundreds of officials refused to listen to politics. They chose auspicious days and then saved trouble."

Therefore, on this day, the court will have a holiday and rest, the army will be on standby, the frontier fortress will be closed, the business trip will be closed, relatives and friends will send meals to each other, visit each other, and have a "quiet" holiday happily.

The origin of winter solstice is short 2 1, and the origin of winter solstice.

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. Winter solstice festival customs

south

Many places in southern China will celebrate the winter solstice. Many areas along the southern coast have the traditional custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors during the winter solstice. 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 "adding vegetables" to eat meat on the solstice in winter. 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 makes winter solstice balls with sugar, meat, vegetables, fruits and shredded radish, which are not only eaten by family members, but also given to relatives and friends as a sign 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".

north

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 the frozen people when he retired in his later years, so he wrapped mutton, some cold-dispelling herbs and dough in his ears and made the medicine of "Joule Decoction for Eliminating Cold" for the people to eat. Later, on the solstice of winter, people imitated eating and formed a custom. Most parts of northern China want to eat jiaozi on this day, because jiaozi means "driving away the cold". Up to now, there has been a saying among the people that "jiaozi bowls are not delicious in winter, and nobody cares about frozen ears".

A brief introduction to the origin of winter solstice 3 Winter solstice custom 1: ancestor worship.

As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was recorded in Cui Ai's "Four-person Moon Order" that the people wanted to offer something to Xuanming and Zuyou. The records of ancestor worship in the winter of solstice began to increase in the Song Dynasty. "Dream of Tokyo" said that the capital attaches great importance to the winter solstice festival, so it is easier to get new clothes, buy some food and enjoy the worship of ancestors.

According to Legend of Wulin, wonton is the first enjoyment, and winter ancestor worship to the sun became popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Jiajing's "Jiangyin County Records" records: "On holidays, the portrait of Zukao is hung in nave, and a ceremony is set up, and its ceremony depends on New Year's Day." In the southern region where the clan system is very popular, ancestor worship is often carried out in ancestral halls. Records of Nankang County, Jiajing, Jiangxi Province: "The winter solstice is before the ancestral hall, and the mausoleum is like a tomb."

The custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors in winter solstice is popular in Fujian province. For example, "Records of Jianyang County in Wanli" said, "It is a ritual for Japanese families to sacrifice their ancestors." Fujian people use special dumplings to worship their ancestors, while Qing people usually worship their ancestors at home, in graves and in the south where they live together in winter. They often worship their ancestors in their own temples like Qingming and Zhongyuan.

Winter solstice custom 2: September to dispel the cold in September

As soon as the solstice of winter arrives, it will enter several cold days. China folks call the winter solstice nine to nine, that is, from the winter solstice, it is divided into nine every nine days and blooms at 8 1 hour.

In the traditional culture of China, nine is the extreme number, representing the largest, largest and longest. Nine nines is eighty-one, which is the "maximum" number. People in ancient China believed that after the solstice of the 998th1winter, spring would definitely come.

Winter Solstice Custom 3: Eat jiaozi

Winter solstice is a very important solar term in the China lunar calendar, and it is also one of the traditional festivals of the Han nationality. It originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has been passed down to this day. The winter solstice is commonly known as "Winter Festival", "Dragon Solstice Festival" and "Asian New Year Festival". As early as 2500 years ago, during the Spring and Autumn Period, China observed the sun with earth gauges and determined the specific time of the winter solstice.

The winter solstice is the earliest of the 24 solar terms, and the time is between the solar calendar 65438+February 265438+February 0-23, which is the shortest day and the longest night in the northern hemisphere. On the solstice of winter, there are different customs in the north and south of China. Most areas in the north will eat jiaozi, and the south will eat jiaozi with their families. There is also a proverb: When the solstice of winter comes, you will eat jiaozi, and there are many poems and songs about this solar term, as well as some film and television works.