How did the custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice come about?

On the winter solstice in the north, the family will be busy preparing all kinds of dumpling skins and fillings, and then the family sits together to wrap the dumplings, eat dumplings, and spend the winter solstice in unity. So do you know how the custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice came about?

The origin of the custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice

Every year on the winter solstice of the lunar calendar, rich or poor, dumplings are essential to the holiday meal. As the proverb goes, "On October 1, the winter solstice arrives, and every family eats dumplings." This custom was left behind in honor of Zhang Zhongjing, the "Sage of Medicine," who gave medicine on the winter solstice.

Zhang Zhongjing was a Nanyang Wudong people, he wrote "Typhoid Miscellaneous Diseases", the collection of medical practitioners of the great, by successive generations of medical practitioners as a classic. Zhang Zhongjing famously said, "Advance to save the world, retreat to save the people; can not be a good prime minister, but also should be a good doctor." During the Eastern Han Dynasty, he was the governor of Changsha and practiced medicine in the lobby. Later, he resigned and returned to his hometown to cure his neighbors. When he returned to his hometown, it was winter. He saw the villagers on both sides of the Baihe River were yellow and thin, starving and cold, and many people's ears were frozen. Then let his disciples in Nanyang Dongguan set up a medical shed, set up a cauldron, in the winter solstice day she "dispel cold Jiao ear soup" to cure frostbite. He put lamb, chili peppers and some cold-expelling herbs in a pot of boiling, and then the lamb, drugs out of the chopped, breaded into an ear-like "Jiao Er", cooked, distributed to the people who came to seek medication for each of the two "Jiao Er", a big bowl of broth. People ate "Jiao Er", drank "cold soup", warm body, two ears heat, frostbitten ears are cured. Later generations followed the example of "Jiao Er" and wrapped it into food, also called "dumplings" or "flat food".

Zhang Zhongjing is nearly 1800 years old, but the story of his "Cold-removing Jiao Er Tang" has been widely spread in the folklore. Every winter solstice people eat dumplings, heart still remember Zhang Zhongjing's kindness. There is still a folk song in Nanyang that says, "If you don't serve dumplings at the winter solstice, no one will take care of you if you freeze your ears off.

Customs of the winter solstice

1, eat tofu

In some northern regions, the winter solstice festival is known as the "tofu festival". On the day of the festival, every family eats small onions with tofu. Why this holiday custom? This comes from a historical story. According to the legend, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Empire, and one day he suddenly received a secret report that Liu Bowen, an important minister of the court, had a counter-argument. Zhu Yuanzhang then ordered Liu Bowen to hand over all his accounts within three days. Three days later, Liu Bowen came to see Zhu Yuanzhang with an account book and a tile pot. Zhu Yuanzhang examined the accounts and found them to be correct; he opened the jar and saw that inside was a home-cooked dish: bean curd with scallions. Zhu Yuanzhang immediately understood: this is Liu Bowen in his own defense, implying that he is innocent! Thus, there is this holiday food custom.

2, eat red beans and rice

In the Jiangnan water towns, the night of the winter solstice, the family must be reunited to eat red beans and glutinous rice. Why this holiday custom? This comes from a mythological story. In ancient times, the son of the sky god **** Gong's rely on his father's reputation, everywhere for wrongdoing. On the winter solstice, he died of illness, but turned into a plague that still plagued the people. The plague is afraid of adzuki beans, so people eat adzuki beans rice on the night of the winter solstice, in order to avoid the plague, to get rid of the disease and prevent plague.

3, eat dog meat

Winter solstice to eat dog meat custom, originated from the Han Gaozu Liu Bang: a winter solstice, Liu Bang ate a general Fan Kuai sent stewed dog meat, shouting, so there is a folk winter solstice to eat dog meat custom. Eat dog meat in winter, not only is a holiday custom, in fact, more of its scientific reasoning: dog meat has a strong yang nourishing effect, eat more dog meat in winter, help to enhance the human body's ability to protect against the cold and strengthen the body. The northern winter solstice to eat dog meat, mainly hot pot stew, stew at the same time, but also under some slices of tofu, dry cabbage, etc..

The above is the story and custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice that I know, guys, what other customs do you know?