The winter solstice, this day is the shortest day and the longest night of the year, and the arrival of the winter solstice solar term also marks the beginning of the cold season. The winter solstice is one of the four seasons and eight festivals in our country, it is an important festival in winter, people believe that this day is the turning point of "the day travels south solstice, returns to the north", from the day of the winter solstice, the height of the sun rises and the day increases day by day.
In ancient China, there has always been a saying that "the winter solstice is as big as a year". The ancients believed that the winter solstice was an auspicious day, a natural transformation of yin and yang, and a sign of the coming of the pole. In ancient times, people believed that the winter solstice was no less important than the New Year, so the winter solstice was also called "sub-year". In ancient times, people would worship the heavens, ancestors, and gods on this day. According to records, the Zhou people took the first month of the winter and the first day of the winter month as the first month of the lunar calendar. Since the Zhou period, the Zhou people have sacrificed on the winter solstice (November).
In our place, there is a saying that "when the winter solstice arrives, eat dumplings". According to legend, dumplings are eaten on the winter solstice to commemorate the medical saint Zhang Zhongjing. He wrote "Treatise on Typhoid Fever and Miscellaneous Diseases", which is the culmination of a collection of doctors. Zhang Zhongjing famously said: "If you enter, you will save the world, and if you retreat, you will save the people."It cannot be a good look, but it should also be a good doctor. ”
Zhang Zhongjing was a native of Nieyang, Nanyang, and he served as the Taishou of Changsha in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Later, he resolutely resigned and returned to his hometown, and when he returned to his hometown, it was winter. When I returned to the township, I saw that the villagers were yellow and thin, hungry and cold, and many people's ears were frozen. He boiled the mutton and some herbs in a pot, then took out the mutton and the medicine and chopped them up, made them into ears with bread, cooked them, and gave them two to each of the people who came to ask for medicine, and a large bowl of broth. People ate "Jiao'er" and drank "cold soup", and their whole body was warm, their ears were hot, and their frostbitten ears were cured. Later generations learned the appearance of "Jiao'er" and wrapped it into food, also called "dumplings" or "flat food".
Later, people regarded eating dumplings on the winter solstice as a custom that has been passed down to this day. Eating dumplings on the winter solstice is not forgetting the grace of the "medical saint" Zhang Zhongjing's "dispelling cold and delicate ear soup". To this day, there is still a folk song in Nanyang that "the winter solstice does not serve dumpling bowls, and no one cares if you freeze your ears".
So is there any other way to say eating dumplings on the winter solstice?Yes, there is.
One. That's reunion. In traditional Chinese culture, dumplings are a food that symbolizes reunion. On the day of the winter solstice, every family will gather together to make dumplings and eat dumplings to spend this warm moment together. This atmosphere of reunion makes people feel warm and caring in the cold winter.
Two. That is to keep warm. Winter is the coldest season of the year, and the body needs more heat to withstand the cold. As a high-calorie food, dumplings can help people keep warm. At the same time, the fillings of dumplings are rich and diverse, including nutritious ingredients such as meat and vegetables, as well as nourishing ingredients such as peanuts and walnuts, which can provide people with sufficient nutrition.
Three. That's the inheritance of culture. As a traditional food with a long history, dumplings carry the cultural memory of the Chinese nation. On the day of the winter solstice, every household will make dumplings and eat dumplings, and this traditional custom has continued for thousands of years. Through this event, people can not only taste delicious dumplings, but also feel the strong national cultural atmosphere.
Traditional festivals are the inheritance treasures of the Chinese nation, which need to be inherited and carried forward.