Winter Solstice Folk Customs

In ancient times, the winter solstice was an important solar term. People also celebrated the winter solstice as a festival. It was the beginning of a solar term cycle. It was also regarded as an auspicious day and a day of celebration, which shows that the ancient people held the winter solstice. of attention. Below I have compiled some winter solstice folk customs, let’s take a look.

1. Eating dumplings

is also a dietary custom during the Winter Solstice Festival. According to legend, Zhang Zhongjing, a famous doctor in the Han Dynasty, saw that many poor people had their ears rotten by the cold during the twelfth lunar month, so he boiled the medicinal materials with mutton, fished them out, chopped them up, and wrapped them in ear-shaped dumplings for people to eat. After eating, people feel their ears feel warm. From the winter solstice to New Year's Eve, folks with frozen ears were cured by this dumpling. Therefore, there is a folk saying that eating dumplings during the Winter Solstice will not freeze your ears.

2. Eating wontons

Eating wontons during the Winter Solstice was first popular in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is said that Zhao Gou, Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, loved to eat wontons made by the imperial chef. Because one time the wontons were not cooked, someone wanted to send the imperial chef to Dali Temple for punishment. However, because this imperial chef was the only one who could make wontons, Zhao Gou pardoned him. Later, the method of making wontons spread to the people, with more and more varieties and patterns. During the Winter Solstice Festival, every household would make wontons and eat them, thus the saying "Winter Solstice Wontons and Summer Solstice Noodles" came into being.

3. Worshiping ancestors

People have the custom of worshiping ancestors during the Winter Solstice on this day. There are many customs of ancestor worship, such as "sending cold clothes", that is, descendants give their deceased ancestors clothes to keep out the cold when the severe winter comes. Another example is the "coffin day" in some places in the south of the Yangtze River, where the old man's decayed coffin is burned on the dark night of the winter solstice and the remains are moved into a pottery urn. People believe that holding such bone washing and secondary burial can make the ancestors rest in peace under the Nine Springs.

4. Worshiping the Coal Kiln God and the God of Fertility

In some places among the people, there is also the custom of worshiping the Coal Kiln God. Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a kind-hearted girl who went into a cave to escape from the vicious rich man in the cold winter. An old man in the cave gave her a black and shiny stone. The girl felt warm after getting it. She was kind-hearted and gave many black stones to the villagers. If the villagers had black stones, their homes would be warm. It turns out that old man is the coal mine god. So, on the winter solstice, people would worship the coal kiln god and the girl. In addition, during the Winter Solstice Festival in Dongguan, Guangdong, there is a custom of going to the temple to worship the Twelve Mother Goddess in order to obtain a child.

5. Suzhou Winter Winemaking

The Suzhou area attaches great importance to the winter solstice. There is a popular local saying: "Winter Solstice is like a new year." Traditionally, people in Suzhou drink winter wine on the night of the winter solstice. In the cold winter, winter wine can not only ward off the cold, but also express the Suzhou people's hope for a better life.

“The Winter Solstice is a time of transition between the old and the new. In the ancient people’s minds, it naturally has extraordinary cultural significance. Many of the beliefs and rituals in the Winter Solstice customs come from people’s understanding of this season. Feel.