What is winter like on solstice?

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 a turning point for the sun to return directly to the north. After this day, the direct point of the sun will go back. The direct point of the sun will move northward from the Tropic of Capricorn (23 26' s), and the daylight in the northern hemisphere (China is located in the northern hemisphere) will increase day by day.

Winter solstice festival customs:

1, draw nine

The so-called Figure 9 is actually a graph to calculate the warm date from winter to the following spring. In the Ming Dynasty, "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" contained: "From winter to the sun, draw a plum flower, one in eighty petals. Dye one petal a day, and 99 petals will come out, then the spring will be deep, saying that 99 will eliminate the cold. " There are three patterns in "99 Cold Map", namely characters, circles and plum blossoms.

Step 2 brew rice wine

Traditional Gusu people will drink winter wine on the night of winter solstice, and the winter wine will be brewed with glutinous rice or yellow rice and osmanthus.

Step 3 eat glutinous rice balls

Eating dumplings is a traditional custom from winter solstice, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. "Tangyuan" is an indispensable food in winter solstice, and "round" means "reunion" and "perfection". Eating glutinous rice balls on the solstice in winter is also called "the solstice in winter". There is a folk saying that "eating glutinous rice balls makes you one year older".

Step 4 eat barbecue and ginger rice

Some places in the south want to eat barbecue on the solstice in winter. On the solstice of winter, roasted meat becomes an indispensable delicacy on the table of Guangdong and Guangxi people, which means adding vegetables to add new year. On the solstice of winter, Wuchuan people have the custom of "eating ginger rice" on the solstice of winter.

Step 5 eat sweet potato soup

In the traditional customs of Ningbo, sweet potato soup is one of the must-eat foods in winter solstice. "Fan" and "Fan" are homophones. In Ningbo people's understanding, eating sweet potatoes on the solstice in winter means "turning over" all the bad luck of the past year. Tang Guo is similar to jiaozi, much smaller and without stuffing. Tang Guo is also called jiaozi, which means "reunion" and "perfection".

There is also a saying in old Ningbo that "you are one year older after eating soup". People in Ningbo are used to adding wine to sweet potato soup. In Ningbo dialect, wine-making is also called "pulp board", and "pulp" is homophonic with "sheng" in Ningbo dialect, taking its lewdness of "high luck" and "high happiness"

6. Eat jiaozi

In many parts of northern China, it is a custom to eat jiaozi every winter solstice. North China will eat jiaozi on this day, because jiaozi means "driving away the cold". So far, there is a folk proverb that says "no one will care if you freeze your ears on the winter solstice".