Introduction to the custom of winter solstice

Solstice, also known as Winter Festival, Asian New Year Festival and Long Festival, is an important solar term among the 24 solar terms and a traditional folk festival in China.

The winter solstice is the farthest day from the sun in a year, the shortest day and the longest night. As the saying goes, "after eating noodles on the solstice in winter, there is a line every day." From winter to the future, the weather enters the coldest stage of the year. People divide into groups every nine days, and then count them, that is, count nine.

There are many customs around the country to celebrate the winter solstice. For example, in the north, the customs of winter solstice are: slaughtering sheep, steaming steamed bread, eating rice cakes, eating jiaozi, eating winter solstice meat, giving shoes and hats, hiding winter ice and eating wonton; The customs in winter in the south of Japan: eating glutinous rice balls, making long noodles, pasting jiaozi, eating meat, glutinous rice balls and making rice cakes. In some areas, there are customs of ancestor worship and counting 99. In my opinion, among the many customs of winter solstice, five are most worth mentioning. Let's take a look:

One of the customs of winter solstice: offering sacrifices to winter solstice groups

For the "winter solstice group", this is mainly a custom in Jiangnan. Emperor Wu has always had the custom of eating winter solstice pills, also known as "winter solstice pills". It is made of glutinous rice flour, filled with sugar, plum bean paste, sesame seeds and peanuts, and wrapped into a ball, which means reunion and symbolizes family harmony and auspiciousness. Winter solstice meatballs are steamed with glutinous rice flour, meat, vegetables, sugar, fruits and cowpeas, which are mainly used as offerings and can also be given to guests, relatives and neighbors.

Emperor Wu regarded the winter solstice as a very important festival, and even said that it was as big as a year. Before the winter solstice festival, every household in old Suzhou made a winter solstice ball with flour. "Ting Anne halogen" consists of grinding Bihu into balls and filling with sugar, meat, vegetables, fruits, cowpea paste and shredded radish. It is called the "Winter Solstice Mission" and is used for offering sacrifices to ancestors and giving them gifts. There are two kinds of jiaozi in winter solstice, the stuffed one and the big one are powdered jiaozi, and the winter solstice festival is also the first product. The small moon cake without stuffing is a pink circle, and it is also offered to the gods on the winter solstice. Cai Yun's "Wu Biao" has a chant of "reunion of the big and the small, confession of two people, and grinding sound at the beginning of Yin Leichu". Since then, Suzhou people have started to make cakes and make jiaozi, including New Year's Day cakes, thanks to jujube jiaozi, spring dumplings and New Year's dumplings. Until the end of the year, the alley was badly ground.

In Wudi's concept, the winter solstice is not only a seasonal food, but a custom passed down from generation to generation. "Some eat, eat all night; Eat in a bowl and freeze for one night. " This sentence is enough to show the unshakable position of the Winter Solstice Corps.

The second custom of winter solstice: no.99.

Counting to nine is one of the popular customs in China. Count nine, that is, count from the winter solstice (some people say that count every unhealed day from the winter solstice), every nine days is counted as a "nine", and so on. As the saying goes, "it's hot in dog days, but cold in dog days", and the coldest period in a year is "dog days". Count to nine until the eighty-first day, when the peach blossoms open at nine o'clock. At this point, the cold has gone and the weather is getting warmer. Due to the vast territory of China, the climate varies greatly from place to place. Corresponding to the winter solstice "9981, nine peach blossoms, spring blossoms", it is only part of China, not all over the country.

There is a folk saying, "The solstice in summer is three years old, and the solstice in winter is nine years old." Law No.9 has been passed down from mouth to mouth among the people in China, with a history and a lack of records. As for when it originated, there is no exact information. However, it was popular at least in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. In the Chronicle of Jingchu, Zong Yi of Liang Chao wrote: "The winter solstice is 998 1 day, which is the end of cold." In China's traditional philosophy, the ebb and flow of yin and yang, the birth of yang and the extinction of yin symbolize the arrival of warmth and the departure of cold.

According to different climatic conditions, geomorphological features, agricultural phenology and customs, the folks have compiled the jingle "Jiujiujiu": 1929 is not unexpected, 3949 is on the ice, 5969 is watching willows along the river, 799 is open, 899 is geese, 999 is plus 19, and cows are everywhere.

The third custom of winter solstice: eating meat from winter solstice

It is reported that on the winter solstice, most Cantonese people have the custom of "adding vegetables" to eat meat from the winter solstice. For Cantonese, the solstice in winter is a very important festival, even more important than the Spring Festival. Therefore, there is a saying in Guangdong that "New Year's Day is on the solstice of winter".

Among them, barbecue is an indispensable traditional food for Cantonese people on the table from winter to Sunday. Prepare a table of big fish, big meat and bacon sausages, have a good meal with laughter and pray for good luck in the coming year. Some Cantonese also have the custom of sending bacon to relatives and friends on the solstice in winter.

After sweeping graves in winter in southern Japan, it is an ancient dietary custom to "barbecue" in ancestral halls with the same surname according to population. There are two kinds of meat, raw and cooked, and there are many rules for time sharing. Plus different levels of education, there were four levels in Qing Dynasty, namely, juvenile students, scholars, juren and scholars, and four levels in Republic of China, namely, high school, middle school, university and studying abroad, to show encouragement; Give priority to the elderly, and the number will increase in turn at the age of 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 to show respect. Winter solstice meat was purchased with ancestral temple provident fund or rich family donations, and the patriarch was regarded as a gift at that time.

The solstice of winter is the best season for "winter tonic", and there is a folk proverb that "make up for a winter in three seasons, and there will be no disease in the coming year; Make up this winter season, and the tiger can be killed next year. " After winter, "the cathode is Yang". At this time, the yang in the human body is strong, and it is the easiest to absorb foreign nutrition and play its nourishing role, which fully shows that it is most appropriate to supplement before and after this day. As the saying goes, "medicine is better than food." After the winter solstice, it is very important to eat more warm food and eat less or even stay away from cold food, which is very important for balancing yin and yang and enhancing resistance.

On the winter solstice, most Cantonese people have the custom of "adding vegetables" to eat meat on the winter solstice, and some Cantonese people also have the custom of sending bacon to relatives and friends on the winter solstice. On the solstice of winter, the whole family prepares a table of big fish and meat, bacon sausages, and also buys some roasted meat "adding vegetables", such as roasted meat, barbecued pork, roasted goose, roast duck and roast chicken, and eats them with laughter, praying for good luck in the coming year.

The fourth custom of winter solstice: eating jiaozi in the north.

On the solstice of winter, all ethnic groups in northern China have the custom of eating jiaozi. It is said that eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter won't freeze your ears.

Zhang Zhongjing is from Gedong, Nanyang. Treatise on Febrile Diseases, written by him, is a masterpiece of doctors and is regarded as a classic by doctors in past dynasties. Zhang Zhongjing has a famous saying: "if you advance, you will survive;" If you retreat, you will save the people; " You can't be a good doctor and you can't be a good doctor. "When the Eastern Han Dynasty was the magistrate of Changsha, he visited the sick and took medicine and practiced medicine in the lobby. Later, he resolutely resigned and went back to his hometown to treat his neighbors. When he got home, it was already winter. He saw that the villagers on both sides of the Baihe River were sallow and emaciated, hungry and cold, and many people's ears were frozen. He asked his disciples to build a medical shed and a cauldron in Dongguan, Nanyang, and to give up "Quhan Joule Decoction" to treat chilblain on the day of winter solstice.

He boiled mutton, pepper and some herbs for dispelling cold in a pot, then took out mutton and medicine and chopped them up, making ear-shaped dumplings with bread. After cooking, he distributed two horns and a big bowl of broth to everyone who came to ask for medicine. People ate "Joule" and drank "Quhan Decoction", and they were all hot, their ears were hot, and their frostbitten ears were cured. Later generations learned the appearance of Joule and packaged it into food, also called "jiaozi" or "flat food".

When you eat jiaozi on the solstice in winter, you will never forget the kindness of Zhang Zhongjing, a "medical sage", in "Quhan Joule Decoction". Up to now, there is still a folk song in Nanyang, which is called "jiaozi Bowl, and nobody cares about frozen ears." . Therefore, on the solstice of winter, people always eat jiaozi, forming the custom of eating jiaozi's ears without freezing.

The fifth custom of winter solstice: eating jiaozi in the south.

In the south, the custom of eating glutinous rice balls is popular in winter solstice, and there is also a saying among the people that "eating glutinous rice balls is one year older". Tangyuan, also known as jiaozi, is a round dessert made of glutinous rice flour, and "round" means "reunion" and "perfection", so eating tangyuan in winter solstice is also called "jiaozi in winter solstice". Tangyuan can be used for ancestor worship or as a gift to relatives and friends.

Eating glutinous rice balls was established in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. On the solstice of winter, it is necessary to "make dumplings" or "make dumplings". These are also officially recorded in historical materials. The history says that "on the winter solstice, powdered glutinous rice is a pill, which is called' glutinous rice balls'". After jiaozi is wrapped up, it is necessary to offer sacrifices to the gods and ancestors, and then the whole family will eat around. This is called "adding years". Therefore, it is very old to eat glutinous rice balls on the solstice in winter.

The solstice in winter is the longest night in a year. On the winter solstice, before dawn, women get up and make a fire to cook dumplings. First, they worship their ancestors, and then the whole family will sit around and eat dumplings. Therefore, eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter means not only the gradual return of the sun, but also reunion. Modern people prefer to regard it as a symbol of perfection.

During the winter solstice, people will eat many traditional foods. Some areas will eat steamed stuffed buns, rice cakes and rice cakes, which are all related to local eating habits and customs. In fact, no matter what you eat, everyone's original intention is the same, to welcome the arrival of the winter solstice and celebrate the arrival of the New Year.