The origin of winter solstice

The winter solstice festival originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has continued to this day. Lu even said that winter is as big as a year, which shows that the ancients attached importance to winter. 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 regarded as the "Winter Festival", and the official celebration ceremony was called "Hedong", which was a routine festival. It is recorded in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty: "Around the winter solstice, gentlemen lived quietly, and officials refused to listen to politics, chose an auspicious day, and then saved trouble." So on this day, the court will have a holiday and rest, the army will be on standby, the border will be closed, and friends and relatives will give each other food.