How many solar terms are there in a year? What is the custom of eating jiaozi in winter?

There are 24 solar terms in a year; According to traditional customs, people eat jiaozi on the solstice in winter.

Twenty-four solar terms: beginning of spring, rain, fright, vernal equinox, Qingming, Grain Rain, Changxia, Xiaoman, Mangzhong, Summer Solstice, Xiaoshu, beginning of autumn, Chushu, Bailu, Autumn Equinox, Cold Dew, Chufrost, beginning of winter, light snow, heavy snow, winter solstice, slight cold and severe cold.

According to the solar calendar, there are two solar terms every month, the first is "solar term" and the second is "neutral atmosphere". Dividing a month according to the 24 solar terms means dividing it according to the previous "festivals", and the number of months is equal to the number of months in the solar calendar minus one. For example, the fourth day of February in beginning of spring is the first solar term in February of the solar calendar, which is a "festival" and a symbol of dividing months. The number of months is equal to 2- 1= 1. Therefore, beginning of spring is the symbol of the first month, and beginning of spring is also the symbol of the year.

After the winter solstice, it is the coldest time of the year to enter the "Nine Cold". Therefore, in order to keep warm, people like to eat some high-calorie foods. In northern China, there is a custom of eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter.

People eat jiaozi in winter solstice to commemorate the famous doctor Zhang Zhongjing, and thank him for cooking "Quhan Joule Soup" with mutton, pepper and cold-dispelling herbs in winter to treat people's ear chilblain. Therefore, there is a folk song in some areas, "Nobody cares if you don't make the jiaozi Bowl on the solstice in winter."