Besides eating dumplings during the Winter Solstice, what other customs do we not know about?

During the Winter Solstice, people will hold many activities to welcome the arrival of the Winter Solstice. Each activity has its own different meaning. So what are the traditional customs of the Winter Solstice? What are the folk activities? Come and take a look with me next!

Sacrifice to Heaven

In the Han Dynasty, people believed that from the winter solstice, the yang energy of heaven and earth began to rise and strengthen, which represented the beginning of the next cycle. It is an auspicious day. The emperor wanted to offer sacrifices to heaven on this day, and the ministers also congratulated each other. This custom lasted until the Qing Dynasty and became a ritual that must be held on the Winter Solstice

Counting Nine

The folk call the righteousness of Winter Solstice "Jiaojiu" or "Counting Nine" "That is, starting from the winter solstice, every nine days is regarded as a "nine", and the sky is divided into 9 "nine"s. The last nine and nine days are eighty-one days, and spring will enter after 81 days. After the winter solstice, counting ninety-nine is very popular all over the country. People in various places have compiled various proverbs and jingles for counting ninety-nine based on different climate conditions, scenery characteristics, agricultural weather and customs. The most representative one is the following jingle: 1929 is true, 3949 is walking on the ice, 5969 is watching the willows along the river, 79 is the river, 89 are wild geese, 99 plus one 9. Plow cattle are everywhere. The proverbs and jingles that count ninety-nine are not only people's summary of climate experience over the years, but also people's hope for spring in the harsh winter.

Dumplings are eaten in the north, and glutinous rice balls are eaten in the south

"Winter Solstice Dumplings and Summer Solstice Noodles". In the past, people celebrated the Winter Solstice, and the dietary custom was mostly eating dumplings. Every winter solstice, no matter rich or poor, dumplings are an essential festive meal.

In the south, eating glutinous rice balls is popular during the Winter Solstice. There is also a folk saying that "eating glutinous rice balls makes you one year older". Tangyuan, also known as glutinous rice balls, is a round dessert made of glutinous rice flour. "Yuan" means "reunion" and "completeness", so eating glutinous rice balls during the Winter Solstice is also called "winter solstice dumplings". Tangyuan can be used to worship ancestors or as gifts to relatives and friends.

Shoes and Hats

During the winter solstice, people have the custom of giving away shoes. It is said in "Ancient and Modern China": "There were embroidered mandarin duck shoes in the Han Dynasty, and Emperor Zhao ordered his aunt to visit him on the winter solstice." As time went by, the custom of giving shoes to aunts gradually evolved into aunts giving shoes and hats to nephews. . In ancient times, hand-embroidered shoes for women were mostly embroidered with flowers and birds, and hats were often made into phoenix shapes; for men, shoes were mostly embroidered with beasts, and hats were often embroidered with tigers.

Tibetan winter ice

Ice is widely used for preservation and medicine. In the north, people usually build cellars to store ice around the winter solstice. People use iron drills to cut ice from the river, which is more than one foot wide and two feet long, called a square. On the winter solstice, ice is stored in the cellar, sealed tightly, and various fresh fruits are hidden. After spring, they are taken out and sold in the market. The color will look like they were just picked from the tree. Residents along the southern coast are also accustomed to repairing ice cellars after the winter solstice and storing ice cubes to keep the fish fresh during the fishing season the following year.

The above is the sharing of customs and habits about the winter solstice. I believe you have more customs about the winter solstice, so leave your footprints below and let us get excited on the day of the winter solstice!