What are the customs of the Winter Solstice? In the old days, people paid their wages and went to the graves to worship ancestors.

1. Settlement of wages

In the past, those who worked as servants were accustomed to settle wages with their employers during the Winter Solstice Festival and prepare to go home. It is tradition for the boss to hold a banquet to entertain the employees and discuss matters for the next year. Today, some rural self-employed enterprises still retain this custom and hold banquets and drinks during the Winter Solstice Festival.

The same goes for the South. "Miscellaneous Notes of Wuzhong Sui Sui" records: "The Winter Solstice is as big as the New Year, and people in the county attach great importance to the Winter Solstice Festival." On the day before the Winter Solstice, relatives and friends give each other food, which is called "Winter Solstice Plate". On this night, people held a banquet and "wine festival" to celebrate the winter solstice.

2. Worshiping ancestors

Another manifestation of the winter solstice being as important as the New Year is worshiping ancestors. Hebei's "Shenze County Chronicle" records: "On the Winter Solstice, worship ancestors and worship elders, just like New Year's Day rituals." This means that during the Winter Solstice, worshiping ancestors and paying homage to elders should be held with a grand ceremony just like New Year's Day.

This is the north. It is a custom in the south, like Quanzhou, that those who go out during the winter solstice will go back to their hometowns as much as possible to celebrate the festival and pay homage to their ancestors. The ancestor worship ceremony and the Qingming Festival ancestor worship ceremony, collectively known as the Spring and Winter Sacrifice, are very strict and the participants are extremely pious.