Winter solstice customs and the origin of introduction

1, the origin of the winter solstice: winter solstice, is one of the "twenty-four solar terms". During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the twenty-four solar terms were absorbed into the "Taichu Calendar" as a supplement to the calendar for guiding agricultural affairs, and the "Pingqi Method" (i.e., the average time method) was adopted to divide the solar terms. The "Pingqi method" used shadow measurement to determine the shortest day in the Yellow River basin as the winter solstice, divided the dates between the winter solstice and the next winter solstice into twelve equal parts, called "Zhongqi", and then divided the dates between adjacent "Zhongqi" and "Zhongqi" into equal parts. The dates between the neighboring "middle qi" are divided into twelve equal parts, which are called "solar terms"; on average, there is one "middle qi" and one "solar term" every month, which are collectively called the The twenty-four solar terms are collectively referred to as the "twenty-four solar terms".

2, winter solstice customs:

(1) the north to eat dumplings, wontons. In northern China, there is a custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice. Once a year on this day, rich or poor, dumplings are an essential holiday meal. According to legend, this custom is to remember the kindness of Zhang Zhongjing, the "Sage of Medicine", who made the "Cold-removing Jiao Er Tang". The significance of winter solstice wontons is mainly in the ritual, followed by food. Some ancient people believe that eating wontons on the winter solstice is to break the yin and release the yang, support the growth of yang qi between heaven and earth.

(2) the south to eat dumplings. Winter solstice to eat dumplings, is a traditional custom in China, especially prevalent in Jiangnan, folk have "eaten dumplings a year old" said. Soup dumplings can be used to worship ancestors, can also be used to give each other friends and relatives, but also delegation round meaning.