What is the origin of winter solstice?

Winter solstice, also known as short solstice, winter festival and sub-year-old, has both natural and humanistic connotations. It is not only an important solar term among the 24 solar terms, but also a traditional folk 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.

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. There are two sources of winter solstice. Let's take a look:

? One of the origins of the winter solstice: from Tu Youyou's shadow measurement theory?

According to legend, China Zhongyuan began to use the earth gauge method to measure shadows more than 3,000 years ago, and its position in the world was measured in Luoyi, Henan Province, and it was designated as earth. The first of the 24 solar terms determined by Duke Zhou is the "winter solstice" determined by standard chart mapping, and is considered to be the first of the 24 solar terms.

The essence of the method of Tuguitu is that "the tree is eight feet long and the summer solstice is five inches long; On the solstice of winter, the scene is one foot, three feet and five inches long, measuring the depth of the soil, the sun shining, looking for the ground and testing for four hours.

From winter to the sun, the sun has the lowest height and the longest shadow at noon; Astronomically, because the sun shines directly on the ground from the winter solstice to the southernmost point of the year, the sun shines directly on the tropic of Capricorn, and the sun is most inclined to the northern hemisphere, so the shadow is the longest. From summer to the sun, the sun is the highest and the shadow is the shortest at noon; Because the position where the sun shines directly on the ground from summer to morning reaches the northernmost point of the year, the sun shines directly on the tropic of cancer; China is located in the northern hemisphere, and the Tropic of Cancer runs through our territory. On the solstice of summer, there is no shadow of the Tropic of Cancer. After long-term repeated observation and recording of the midday sun shadow, the longest and shortest positions of the sun shadow in a year can be determined, thus establishing the winter solstice and the summer solstice.

As early as the 20th century BC, China Central Plains began to use the "standard table" to measure shadows. Soil gauge is a tool for measuring the length of sun shadow. By measuring the shadow with the "ghost table" and the length of the shadow displayed by the soil gauge, the winter solstice can be obtained.

? The second origin of winter solstice: from the theory of dry calendar?

Speaking of the origin of the winter solstice, it is inseparable from the division of the 24 solar terms. In ancient times, people took the Big Dipper as a reference and bucket handle as a year, and combined with the ten-day and twelve-day branches, the year was divided into 24 nodes to reflect the influence of "time, climate and phenology" on agricultural production.

This kind of chronology is called the chronology of cadres and branches. And these 24 solar terms are 24 solar terms. Therefore, the winter solstice also came into being.

On the winter solstice, the bucket handle of the Big Dipper points north, indicating that the cathode is sunny. Therefore, the ancients regarded this day as a big holiday in winter, and held activities such as offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors, gathering and feasting, which eventually became the custom of winter solstice.

In the dry year, the 24 solar terms begin in the beginning of spring and end in the cold. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, in order to make the 24 solar terms better guide agricultural production, this is the taichu calendar promulgated during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. In taichu calendar, the winter solstice is the first of the 24 solar terms and the beginning of a year. Therefore, on this day, people will hold a grand ceremony and have a holiday, which is called "Hedong". Formed in the lunar calendar.

More than 300 years ago, in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, people took the earth as the observation point and the vernal equinox as the starting point, and calculated that the time for the sun to travel from west to east along the ecliptic was one year. At the same time, the circle formed by the sun orbiting the ecliptic is divided into 24 equal parts, and every 15 degree is 1 equal part, which is a solar term. When the sun moves to 270 degrees in the ecliptic coordinate system, it is the winter solstice. This way of dating is what we now call the lunar calendar, which belongs to the combined calendar of yin and yang. In the lunar calendar, the 24 solar terms begin in the beginning of spring and end in severe cold.

This is the origin of the mid-winter solstice in the 24 solar terms. It can also be seen that although it is only a small calendar, the knowledge about astronomical geography condensed in it is still enough to amaze our future generations.

? A custom of winter solstice: eating jiaozi in the north?

On the solstice of winter, all ethnic groups in northern China have the custom of eating jiaozi. It is said that eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter won't freeze your ears.

Zhang Zhongjing is from Gedong, Nanyang. Treatise on Febrile Diseases, written by him, is a masterpiece of doctors and is regarded as a classic by doctors in past dynasties. Zhang Zhongjing has a famous saying: "if you advance, you will survive;" If you retreat, you will save the people; " You can't be a good doctor and you can't be a good doctor. "When the Eastern Han Dynasty was the magistrate of Changsha, he visited the sick and took medicine and practiced medicine in the lobby. Later, he resolutely resigned and went back to his hometown to treat his neighbors. When he got home, it was already winter. He saw that the villagers on both sides of the Baihe River were sallow and emaciated, hungry and cold, and many people's ears were frozen. He asked his disciples to build a medical shed and a cauldron in Dongguan, Nanyang, and to give up "Quhan Joule Decoction" to treat chilblain on the day of winter solstice.

He boiled mutton, pepper and some herbs for dispelling cold in a pot, then took out mutton and medicine and chopped them up, making ear-shaped dumplings with bread. After cooking, he distributed two horns and a big bowl of broth to everyone who came to ask for medicine. People ate "Joule" and drank "Quhan Decoction", and they were all hot, their ears were hot, and their frostbitten ears were cured. Later generations learned the appearance of Joule and packaged it into food, also called "jiaozi" or "flat food".

When you eat jiaozi on the solstice in winter, you will never forget the kindness of Zhang Zhongjing, a "medical sage", in "Quhan Joule Decoction". Up to now, there is still a folk song in Nanyang, which is called "jiaozi Bowl, and nobody cares about frozen ears." . Therefore, on the solstice of winter, people always eat jiaozi, forming the custom of eating jiaozi's ears without freezing.

? The second custom of winter solstice: eating jiaozi in the south?

In the south, it is popular to eat jiaozi on the solstice in winter, and there is also a folk saying that "eating jiaozi is one year older". Tangyuan, also known as jiaozi, is a round dessert made of glutinous rice flour, and "round" means "reunion" and "perfection", so eating tangyuan in winter solstice is also called "jiaozi in winter solstice". Tangyuan can be used for ancestor worship or as a gift to relatives and friends.

Eating glutinous rice balls was established in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. On the solstice of winter, it is necessary to "make dumplings" or "make dumplings". These are also officially recorded in historical materials. The history says that "on the winter solstice, powdered glutinous rice is a pill, which is called' glutinous rice balls'". After jiaozi is wrapped up, it is necessary to offer sacrifices to the gods and ancestors, and then the whole family will eat around. This is called "adding years". Therefore, it is very old to eat glutinous rice balls on the solstice in winter.

The ancients had a poem about eating dumplings: "Every family smashed rice to make dumplings, knowing that it was the winter solstice of the Ming Dynasty." Eating glutinous rice balls on the solstice in winter is a traditional custom in China, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. There is a folk saying that "eating glutinous rice balls is one year older". Tangyuan is also called jiaozi, and eating jiaozi on the winter solstice is also called "jiaozi on the winter solstice"; Tangyuan can be used for ancestor worship or as a gift to relatives and friends.

The solstice in winter is the longest night in a year. On the winter solstice, before dawn, women get up and make a fire to cook dumplings. First, they worship their ancestors, and then the whole family will sit around and eat dumplings. Therefore, eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter means not only the gradual return of the sun, but also reunion. Modern people prefer to regard it as a symbol of perfection.

The winter solstice, with both natural and humanistic connotations, is not only an important solar term among the 24 solar terms, but also a traditional folk festival in China, which is known as "the winter solstice is as big as a year". The solstice in winter is a traditional festival of our nation. Those romantic legends and simple ancient customs further confirm the long history of the Chinese nation.