What is the solstice in winter?

Winter solstice, also known as solstice, winter festival, child year, etc. It has both natural and humanistic connotations. It is not only an important solar term among the 24 solar terms, but also a traditional folk ancestor worship festival in China. The solstice in winter is one of the eight festivals in four seasons, and it is considered as a big holiday in winter. In ancient times, there was a saying that the winter solstice was as big as a year. The custom of winter solstice varies in content or details due to different regions. In southern China, there are customs of offering sacrifices to ancestors and enjoying the winter solstice. In northern China, it is a custom to eat jiaozi from winter to Sunday every year.

The winter solstice is the 22nd solar term in the "24 solar terms", and the solar calendar reaches 270 degrees. Every year, the festival is held on 65438+February 2 1-23 in the Gregorian calendar. The solstice in winter is the extreme point of direct sunlight spreading to the south. From winter to the sun, the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Capricorn, and the sun is most inclined to the northern hemisphere, and the solar altitude angle is the smallest. In all parts of the northern hemisphere, the days are the shortest and the nights are the longest. The solstice in winter is also the turning point of direct sunlight returning to the north. After this day, it went back, and the direct sunlight began to move northward from the Tropic of Capricorn (23 26' s), and the sunlight in the northern hemisphere (China is located in the northern hemisphere) increased day by day.

In winter solstice, although the sun is low and the days are short, the temperature in winter solstice is not the lowest in meteorology. In fact, because there is still "accumulated heat" on the surface, it is usually not very cold before the winter solstice, and the real cold is after the winter solstice. Because of the huge climate difference in China, this climatic winter is obviously late for most parts of China. The winter solstice marks the beginning of the cold season, and people begin to count nine to calculate the cold days.