What are the customs of the Winter Solstice?

Customs of the winter solstice include eating dumplings, drawing nine, brewing rice wine, making sacrifices, honoring ancestors, wearing new clothes, dressing for the occasion, and so on.

1. Eating Dumplings:

Eating dumplings is one of the most famous food customs during the winter solstice festival. Traditional dumplings are usually filled with pork, shrimp, mushrooms, scallions, ginger and other ingredients to symbolize reunion and good fortune. In the northern part of the country, there is also a folk legend that says "Eating dumplings at the winter solstice is good luck". In addition, eating dumplings also helps to keep you warm and strengthen your body.

2, painting nine

The so-called painting nine, in fact, after the winter solstice to calculate the date of spring chart. The Ming Dynasty, "the Imperial Capital Scenery", "the winter solstice, painting a branch of plum, for the petal eighty a. The day dyeing a petal, petal end of a petal. Day dyeing a petal, petal end and nine out, the spring is deep, said nine nine to eliminate cold map. "nine nine cold map" has three kinds of pattern, respectively, text, circle, plum three kinds.

3, brewing rice wine

Traditional Gusu people, will drink winter wine on the night of the winter solstice, winter wine with glutinous rice or yellow rice, add cinnamon brewing.

4. Sacrifices to Honor Ancestors

The most typical custom of the winter solstice is to make sacrifices to honor one's ancestors. Sacrifices can maximize the descendants' respect and remembrance of their ancestors. Folk in the winter solstice there is also a not so formal "welcome the sun" custom. In addition to offering sacrifices to the sky to welcome the sun, the winter solstice is also a day for the ancestors to remember their ancestors' virtues and pay tribute to them. By paying homage to our ancestors on the day of the seasonal transition, it is as if they are celebrating the holiday with us.

5, wear new clothes, clothing should be

As early as the pre-Qin era, clothing is very much focused on the five elements of thought. According to the four seasons of the year to wear green, yellow, white, black. On the winter solstice, naturally, black ceremonial clothing.

The Tang Dynasty was characterized by a great deal of humanism, and the influence of a festive and joyful atmosphere stimulated the creative potential of the general public in terms of their joie de vivre. Later, the custom of wearing new clothes on the winter solstice was also fixed, the official to the mandarins to give new clothes and crowns, such as today's New Year's Eve units to the issuance of New Year's Day goods of this nature.

The above reference? Baidu Encyclopedia - Winter Solstice